Madeira Beach will get first rip present simulator in Pinellas

MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. — The Madeira Beach Fire Department just lately acquired the primary rip current simulator in Pinellas County to coach firefighters and the neighborhood on how you can reply safely to the swimming hazard, in keeping with Fire Chief Clint Belk.

“Being on the Gulf Coast, it’s obviously a welcome tool,” he mentioned. “It gives us another aspect of the lifes-aving part of the job.”

Chief Belk mentioned the town acquired the $13,000 system a number of weeks in the past and was reimbursed via a grant from the Florida Department of Children and Families. The rip present simulator permits firefighters to expertise the harmful ocean circumstances in a managed swimming pool surroundings.

“In a riptide situation, you never want to swim against the riptide,” mentioned Deputy Chief John Mortellite. “You want to swim with it or out of it parallel to the shore.”

Madeira Beach firefighters reply to between 4-to-6 rip present rescue calls monthly through the summer time, in keeping with Chief Belk. A person who was caught in a rip present drowned within the Gulf final yr.

“A gentleman was taken out by a rip current and fell off of his raft. He tried to fight the rip current from what we could gather,” mentioned Belk. “He did not make it, unfortunately.”

Deputy Chief Mortellite mentioned the simulator works by sucking water in via the underside of the machine and pushing it again out via the highest.

“They’re capable of moving 3,000 gallons of water per minute each,” he mentioned. “So this absolutely will create a rip tide effect of probably close to six miles an hour.” 

Mortellite mentioned rip currents within the Gulf usually have a high pace of about three miles an hour. Lieutenant Mike Wasilewski was coaching with the simulator within the Elks Lodge pool on Tuesday.

“It’s very dangerous to go practice on a real rip tide,” he mentioned. “So having something like this in a controlled environment is much better.”

Madeira Beach is a part of the Gulf Beaches Training Group and can share the simulator to coach different members which embody Pinellas County, Suncoast, Treasure Island, St. Pete Beach and Gulfport. Chief Belk mentioned he desires to carry coaching courses for the neighborhood too.

“Right now we’re in the infancy of it,” he mentioned. “We’re trying to make sure that we’re proficient in it before we start hosting trainings.”