Are you spending your vacation by the sea or a lake? Remember to use only guarded bathing areas. Always follow the rules of sunbathing and bathing, and keep an eye on your children when they are with you! And if you notice someone drowning, call a lifeguard or, when they are not around, call 601 100 100 or 112.
Safe bathing beachtoguarded bathing beach by a lifeguard . We talk to Katarzyna Rybak about how to rest safely by the water, who has many seasons behind her on the beach in Sopot, and in 2010, as the only woman, took part in a rescue operation, providing first aid in the most dangerous flood areas.
- Once a woman in a vest with the word WOPR was a surprise for sunbathers, and today?
Katarzyna Rybarczyk : It depends where she works. There are beaches by the sea, where the conditions are more difficult, and those where it is a little easier - women are perfect for them there. Generally speaking, men still have an advantage in this profession (and this will probably not change), but more and more women are growing every year.
- Do sunbathers follow the rules of bathing?
K.R. : When the weather and water conditions deteriorate, we raise a red flag - people should not go into the water then. We do it for their safety, but there are a lot of people who, despite the ban, decide to swim and swim. Even when I come over and bring them attention. I usually hear: "I didn't drive 500 km here to sit on the beach." But we really don't ban bathing to disturb them or because we don't feel like working. On the contrary - by hanging the red flag, we have even more work to do, explaining to each individual why they must get out of the water or not. And many people then go to unguarded beaches. We are not responsible for such baths, but … the truth is that if someone calls us to them, we go to help.
- When exactly do you fly red flags?
K.R. : When the weather or the water conditions make it impossible to swim. These can be reverse currents, high waves, lightning, water temperatures lower than 14 ° C or limited visibility from our side. If there's fog and we can't see furtherthan a few meters, that is, we do not look at the entire bathing beach, we cannot risk people's lives. Not his own, because the rescuer must also take care of himself.
- What mistakes do sunbathers most often make?
K.R. : It happens most often when small children are killed - and that is our biggest problem. These children, of course, die for a while, because their parents very quickly scream and run for help. Most people are unaware that, according to the law, a child is only allowed to be on the beach or in the water until the age of 7 if under the supervision of an adult. Such children cannot be left alone!
- In addition to, of course, looking after the children, how can parents avoid this stress?
K.R. : All they need to do is put a band on their child's hand and write down their phone number on it. When television advertised them last year, many parents came up to us and asked for them. We also give them away very often. When I see the little ones running near my stand, I give them to them. And there is no problem to put something like this on a child, because these bands are nice, colorful. And this is an extremely useful thing, because when even a child gets lost and comes to us, a moment later it goes back to its parents. And if we find a child who stands and cries, we waste time and energy looking for his parents. And conversely. Thanks to this headband, we all avoid unnecessary confusion. Going to the beach, let's charge our mobile phone.
ImportantValid number 601 100 100
This number should be saved in your phone if you plan to spend your vacation by the water. Most often it connects with Sopot, which is the main rescue center in Poland. Such a connection is immediately redirected by the dispatcher to the unit on a given lake or lagoon. All waters in Poland are divided into specific rescue units.
K.R. : Of course. We have a few jet ski rentals and although each of them has a special track, which takes you out to sea, we still have to explain to everyone that you have to do it carefully, with a limited speed. A minimum of 50 m from the shore - only there you can freely use the scooter. The guarded bathing areas extend 50 m from the shoreline and only to this point, to the red buoys, people can swim from the beach. The scooters should therefore be moving in the next zone. And it can be different. Scooters are not difficult to handle, so people think if you get on them and pushstart button, they are already masters of the steering wheel and can go anywhere. And such equipment weighs several hundred kilos and if it affects the bathing beach at very high speed (and this often happens), it can hurt someone a lot. And if a man is sitting on it for the first time, he will know how to steer, but he will not take the scooter out of a big wave or out of a sharp bend and will not react properly when an accident occurs.
K.R. : In order not to enter the water under the influence of alcohol - which also happens often, unfortunately. Sometimes when I see the state of people trying to bathe - I literally put it this way: trying - I'm terrified. Because not only can they hurt themselves then, but also others. It is no coincidence that on most beaches you cannot drink alcohol at all during the lifeguards' working hours, which is between 9:00 and 6:00 PM
K.R. : People do not follow the basic rules of safe sunbathing that they teach their children: that you should not enter the water immediately after sunbathing or after eating, that you should lubricate yourself while sitting on the beach sunscreen creams. In this way, they pose a threat to themselves. And on others, because a drowning person grabs a razor - suddenly he gains such strength that he will draw anyone under the water. And for this reason, rescuers never approach a drowning person within arm's reach - we always have a buoy or a lifebuoy on lines so that someone can grab him. Only then can we approach the drowning person and tow them ashore.
K.R. : According to the regulations, for every 100 meters of the coastline, there should be a lifeguard on the beach - and he would probably be the first to notice such a situation. And even if not, people should not run to help themselves, because it could end tragically not only for this one person. They should always call on us. Even if they think they can swim well, their skills may not be enough to save the other person. We strive to train as many people as possible in first aid, so that they can help someone in an emergency, but in guarded bathing areas all help is provided by a lifeguard. We have red costumes, blue towers - so we are visible from a distance.
K.R. : Dispatchers from the rescue center are available 24/7. And we sit at the base after working hours on the beach, so when a report comes in, we go to help. And even if there was no one in our base during the off-season, the rescue operation would be quickly undertaken by the police or fire brigade, with which our water rescue center is closely coordinated.
K.R. : It depends where the plaza is. If it is the vicinity of Sopot, the beginning of Gdynia, somewhere close to us, we get on quads, motorboats and we are there in a few minutes. We are fully prepared for such interventions, focused on the fact that at any moment something may happen. We have to react so quickly, because water is an element.
K.R. : from the very beginning I worked on the Sopot beach - and our bathing area is very well guarded. And that is why for 16 years there has not been a case of anyone drowning in our country. Last year we had a difficult action - the first so serious I participated in - we dragged a 17-year-old boy out of the sea, who could not be rescued … When we were called to help, he had been under the water for 15 minutes. It happened not on our beach, but on the beach in Gdańsk. It was June, pre-season. In fact, it was just a coincidence that we were at the base, because we are not required to be on the phone at this time of the year. We reacted quickly, but … we all realized that we were swimming only to catch the body.
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