used in shallow waters that go from zero-depth to at least three feet. these entries are used in different scenarios depending on if the victim is passive, or conscious, whether they are in deep or shallow water, and if they have a potential head, neck or spinal injury. identifying types of swimmer u.s. military personnel undergo lifeguard training while performing patron surveillance (usually from an elevated stand or a water-level standing or sitting position) lifeguards watch for and recognize struggling or drowning swimmers, and swimmers with sudden medical conditions such as a stroke, heart attack, asthma, diabetes, or seizures. lifeguards look for swimmers in various categories and conditions: passive drowning victims are inactive in the water, submerged or otherwise. when a lifeguard sees this kind of swimmer they perform an emergency rescue. active drowning victims are taking in water while attempting to stay at the surface. common signs lifeguards look for include looking for arms moving or flapping laterally (in an effort to press down on the water and leverage the head above the water's surface), not necessarily flailing, with the body vertical, no supporting kick, and no forwards progress. this behavior is known as the instinctive drowning response. lifeguards perform an emergency rescue to assist this kind of swimmer as their behavior results from being incapable of more active efforts to survive. they may be less than 60 seconds from sinking underwater. distressed swimmers are having trouble swimming, perhaps from fatigue, and may or may not be calling out for help. lifeguards usually swim out and help these swimmers to the side. they may or may not require additional assistance. normal swimmers (healthy swimmers) are those who do not need any support and can swim on their own doing intermediate strokes (swimming standards). locations lifeguard on duty, borkum in the north sea two lifeguards of the german dlrg patrolling a public bathing area of a lake on stand-up paddleboards in munich lifeguards can be found patrolling many different types of water, and each type has its own unique features, duties and challenges. locations where lifeguards can be found include: ocean beach – lifeguards are commonly associated with beaches on the seashore, and this is often considered the most challenging environment to lifeguard due to the influence of external factors such as weather, currents, tides and waves. life guards have to be in peak physical condition in order to accommodate these conditions properly. lifeguards are often required to complete additional training to be able to service ocean beach areas. inland body of water (waterfront) – lifeguards can also look after open water areas such as rivers, or even lakes or ponds where swimmers may congregate. swimming pool – most large pools, either indoor or outdoor, are required by law to be patrolled by lifeguards. nonetheless, smaller pools often do not have qualified personnel. water park – whilst water parks are a type of swimming pool, they can be considered a unique type of facility as they may involve additional features such as water slides or wave generators, or shallow pool play areas ocean lagoon or tidal pool – these enclosed areas use seawater, but like a pool have a limited and contained area, but have the potential for additional hazards above and beyond an artificial pool waterfront – lifeguards can look after in a non-surf, open-water areas such as lakes, rivers, streams, and lagoons that are found at public parks, resorts, summer camps and campgrounds. open ocean – in some cases, people may swim in the open ocean from a boat (such as a cruise ship) and lifeguards may be employed for safety in this instance. positioning belgian lifeguards with portable high chair to afford optimum viewing position of bathing area lifeguards have a primary duty to supervise their responsibility area. to achieve this the lifeguard needs an optimum position to observe the public. this is often best achieved from an elevated position, which can be a chair, platform or the roof of a vehicle. this allows them maximum visibility over their supervised area and may facilitate communication between them and their team. some lifeguard teams use portable platforms or chairs which can be moved to the most appropriate position. this can take account of changes such as a specific activity taking place, prevailing wind direction or simply enable lifeguards to move closer to the water if the tide goes out on a beach. the chair or tower can also act as storage for the lifeguard, holding important rescue and communication equipment nearby. it can also act as a recognizable point for the public to find lifeguard assistance. for this reason, it is often marked with a flag or flags to enable location by the public. these flags may also give information to the bathers about current swimming conditions. other options, depending on the location, can include patrolling the edge of the water on foot, which allows closer interaction with the public, and the opportunity to provide face to face reassurance and advice, or supervising from within or on the water, which is most applicable in open water (such as the sea or even a large water park) where lifeguards can use boats or other personal watercraft to be in the water, which extends their range and may allow quicker response to emergencies. 10/20 protection standard the 10/20 protection standard is a technique taught to lifeguards on many courses including the uk national pool lifeguard qualification. , the american lifeguard association, and the ellis & associates international lifeguard training program (iltp), which created the concept. it requires scanning from one side of the pool to the other, or the designated area, in 10 seconds, with the lifeguard no further than 20 seconds away from any swimmer in difficulty in the lifeguard's area. flags rnli-patrol at treyarnon bay, cornwall, england lifeguard tower with yellow and purple flag in miami beach in most countries, lifeguards use similar flag signs to signal swimmers their presence, specific areas and possible dangers: flag meaning lifeguard on duty. when positioned at the shore: marks the swimming area. (sometimes also diagonal or as a red over yellow flag) high hazard. swimming discouraged / prohibited (in some countries only at two red flags). medium hazard. only for experienced swimmers. proceed with caution. swimming is safe (usually unofficial). marine pests present; mainly for jellyfish (not in all countries; in dangerous cases, the red flag is shown). watercraft area. no swimming. watercraft use prohibited. diver in the water; sometimes also a red flag with a white diagonal stripe (see dive flag). no flag flying no lifeguards on duty equipment lifeguard station at trunk bay on saint john equipment used by lifeguards will vary depending on the location and specific conditions encountered. certain equipment is relatively universal such as a whistle for attracting the attention of the public or other members of the team, a first aid kit and rescue aids. other equipment includes, but is not limited to, rescue cans, rescue tubes, rescue boards, spinal boards, aeds, trauma bags, and oxygen. rescue aids there is a hierarchy of rescue techniques which minimizes danger to lifeguards and maximizes the effectiveness of a rescue, and this dictates the types of rescue aids that a lifeguard should have available. lifeguards are supposed to have some equipment to aid rescues. after determining a swimmer is in trouble they try to help in ways that will not result in a threat to the life of the lifeguard or others. this is done by helping at a distance by using a pole; a lifebuoy may be thrown, wading to the victim, using available watercraft, swim with an aid, such as a rescue buoy. as a last resort, direct swimming to the apparent victim. in addition to these basic lifeguarding techniques, some units are trained in additional water rescue techniques such as scuba diving and swift water training, or in rescue techniques unrelated to water rescue such as abseiling for cliff rescue and bike patrol training, and they will carry appropriate equipment for these. first aid lifeguards are proficient in first aid, and have a well stocked first aid kit available. they may have advanced first aid items such as supplemental oxygen, a suction device, a resuscitator, a defibrillator or aed or a spinal immobilization board. lifeguards are trained to contact ems personnel immediately. if a drowning victim has been rescued the victim might need ems attention or extensive medical treatment. certain california lifeguards are trained in a more extensive advanced first aid that is known as title 22 first aid for public safety personnel. some lifeguards are crossed trained as emergency medical technicians as a part of their emergency services system. in certain jurisdictions, lifeguards may use airway adjuncts such as nasopharyngeal airways and oropharyngeal airways. rescue watercraft inflatable rescue boat lifeguards will sometimes use rescue watercraft to rescue victims that are either far away or when there is large surf, i.e. big waves. types of rescue watercraft: inflatable rescue boats (irbs) – these inflatable boats are useful when patrolling a beach especially ocean surf beaches where either the surf is too powerful or the beach too large to perform rescues effectively on a board. row rescue boats – best used in calmer water, wood paddle boats are used to patrol swimmers and for quick entry into the water when a drowning is happening at further distance. these are maneuvered and propelled by human power, so they require a lot of practice. each boat has a larger wooden bench that allows lifeguards to perform cpr while heading back to shore, if needed. rescue water craft (rwc) – also known as personal watercraft, are useful for their faster top speeds and maneuverability in ocean surf conditions. communications effective communications are vital for lifeguards and they may choose to use whistles, two-way radios, megaphones or signal flares. a more traditional method of communication with the public is through the use of colored flags, which can be raised over permanent or temporary flag poles to inform the public of different information. more often than not a whistle is used in the pool leisure facility (public and private), the following signals are used by some lifeguards with a whistle (note: it is always important to remember that each facility may have their own standards and procedures for their whistle protocol). 1 short blast – used to gain the attention of a swimmer. 2 short blasts – used to gain the attention of fellow lifeguards (including managers/head lifeguards) 3 short blasts – used to signal that a lifeguard is taking action in their area. 1 long blast – (swimming pools) used to clear the pool 1 long blast – used to signal to a fellow lifeguard that you are jumping in for an active save. 2 long blows – used to signal to swimmers that they must clear the pool, this could be because the pool is closed or an emergency is taking place significant enough for the lifeguards to clear the pool. transportation knrm lifeguard schiermonnikoog volkswagen amarok pick-up truck. for duty areas over a wide area, such as beaches and lakes, lifeguards may require transport over distance and they may use land transport including pick-up trucks, quad bikes, gators, or other off-road vehicle. they may also use larger water craft such as a large rigid or inflatable boats, personal water crafts, or hovercraft. by country lifeguard tower, asprovalta (greece) australia in australia lifeguards are distinguished from surf life savers. lifeguards are paid employees who patrol beaches, lakes and pools/aquatic venues. beach lifeguards are usually employed by local government authorities and patrol the beach throughout the year. surf lifesavers are a large voluntary organization that patrol beaches on weekends and public holidays during the warmer months (usually from mid-september to late april) and also perform public training of kids, the nippers, as well as competitions, such as surf carnivals or winter swimming events. belgium belgium has a coastline with a length of 68 kilometres (42 mi). the coast is urbanised over practically its entire length and is visited by thousands of tourists each year. in 1982 a lifeguard service has been built up to minimize the death by drowning at the belgian coast. because the north sea only borders flanders, more particularly the province of west flanders, the