Beach Safety Tower 0 System

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2010

Okaloosa County Beach Safety is a division of the county Public Safety Department and is an Open Water Surf Lifesaving Agency accredited by the United States Lifesaving Association. The program is responsible for all water related emergency response incidents requiring rescue and extrication in Okaloosa County. That responsibility is divided into three missions or services: lifeguard services, swiftwater/flood rescue and pre-hospital advanced and basic life-support emergency medical care. The primary mission of providing lifeguard services is carried out on approximately 7 miles of Okaloosa County beaches and stretches into neighboring jurisdictions in support responsibilities. In fiscal year 2008, plans to improve the effectiveness and the efficiency of the lifeguard service began. This plan included changing the general operations system to what is known as a Tower 0 system. Such a system places command and control of beach operations on a single or main tower. The operator in this tower has the ability to see the entire beach and the command authority to manage and coordinate all lifeguard communications and lifesaving operations from one location. Results were measurable within days of implementation and it was easily concluded that effectiveness and efficiency were definitively enhanced.