Allie Terres
Staff Writer
Virginia Beach city hall reached the decision last month to rehire a privately owned company, the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service (VBLS), to control life support services at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
The resolution was reached by city hall in the midst of VBLS’s seven-year contract with Virginia Beach expiring and the release of a city report that estimated considerable potential savings if the municipality took over operations.
The report, released last month, outlined the benefits that transferring emergency services to the city-funded EMS Department could provide. Benefits included a savings of $1.4 million over five-years.
From Virginia Beach to Florida, most cities on the East Coast hire private companies to maintain shoreline emergency services. “It takes the liability and responsibility away from of the city,” said Deputy Chief of the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service, Tom Gill.
VBLS’s eighty-year experience at the oceanfront and immense support from the Virginia Beach community won the company a new five-year contract, despite the possible savings presented by the city report.
Gill argued that the report did not account for operational expenses that are not obvious. “We’ve been here a long time and we know where the expenses are.”
Expenditures that were missed by the report include the operation of emergency vehicles and required lifeguard training.
The Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service became operational in 1930 at the hands of Dusty Hinnant. The company has reserved control over lifeguarding services and emergency response tactics at the beach ever since.
Since 2004, about 4,000 people have been rescued, 8,000 lost kids were returned to parents, and 750 medical emergency responses were made. With these figures, VBLS consistently proves itself to be one of the best lifesaving services on the East Coast.
VBLS has become a part of the Virginia Beach community. “I will be part of VBLS for life,” said Bernard Escobar, who has been a lifeguard with the company for six years. Bernard is one of the more experienced lifeguards and believes, “The best part of the job is the camaraderie.”
At a city hall meeting on Jan. 24, the possibility of the city takeover of oceanfront services was considered. About 60 people showed up in support of the continued operation of VBLS.
“We didn’t have to build a grassroots organization. We are a grassroots organization,” Gill said of the outstanding community support.
In 2009, the Virginia Beach municipality took over the lifesaving operations at Sandbridge, a smaller section of the Virginia Beach oceanfront, without consulting the community or offering a chance for VBLS to argue the decision.
According to many lifeguards, the service that the municipality provides at Sandbridge pales in comparison to the quality of a VBLS operation. “If they cannot manage Sandbridge,” said Escobar, “they definitely could not handle the main oceanfront”.
VBLS was never looking to battle with the Virginia Beach community it is dedicated to protect. Gill believes the new five-year contract will bring “the best service at the best value that Virginia Beach has ever seen.”
Photo from Google.com
