Lifeguards may get new fiberglass towers
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

From this ... Current lifeguard towers are rickety structures that cause splinters and offer little protection from the elements.

The rickety wooden lifeguard towers on Pensacola Beach could be replaced with more modern equivalents if the Santa Rosa Island Authority (SRIA) Public Safety Director Bob West has his way.

West wants Escambia County officials to purchase six fully enclosed, fiberglass, weather resistant towers. The current towers are open to the elements on the sides and their viewing platforms are several feet off the ground, leaving lifeguards to jump to the rescue. West said the wooden structures, which have been in place since Hurricane Ivan in 2004, also become targets for lightning during electrical storms and are prone to deviant activity at night because they can't be locked up.

"Every time we pick them up they become structurally weakened," West added.

He also cited an incident in 2004 when several beach visitors tipped over two wooden towers one night and were seriously injured. The design of the replacement structures would make that type of activity nearly impossible.

The proposed replacement towers feature tinted glass windows, lockable doors, and stainless steel support beams. West also said the 17-foot access ramp on the new towers would eliminate the need for lifeguards to jump off the viewing platform as they do with the current towers.

To this ... The proposed replacement towers allow lifeguards to see out in case of lightning and can be closed at night to prevent damage.

Experienced beach lifeguard Paul Louy, 23, likes the idea of the upgraded amenities.

"It's a very good idea," Louy said. "The more shade and protection we have out here the better."

West and the island's General Manager Buck Lee recently gave presentations to the Tourism Development Council (TDC) and the Santa Rosa Island Authority, requesting approximately $212,000 for six of the structures. In their proposals, they suggested the towers could be replaced immediately or on a two per year basis.

The TDC, which is an entity that controls Escambia County's bed taxes, must split its funding between the county owned Pensacola Civic Center, the Perdido Key and Pensacola Beach Chambers of Commerce, The Pensacola Sports Association and the Pensacola Information and Visitor's Bureau.

West feels optimistic about procuring the new towers and hopes to see them on the island by next summer.

The beach official also added that lifeguard running and swimming qualification tests will be held at Washington High School pool in Pensacola March 10. Pensacola Beach Public Safety currently employs 16 lifeguards and West would like to see that number increased to 34 for the summer of 2007.

Applicants are required to swim 600 yards in 10 minutes or less and run one and a half miles in 12 minutes or less. Applicants must also be at least 16 years of age and be eligible for a Florida Driver's License.

For details: www.usla.org.