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Page 74
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
August 16, 2013
GUARDING THE BEACH
Sand Hole Dangers Outlined
OCEAN CITY – Many lifeguards’ least favorite policy to enforce is our policy regarding holes on the beach. We often have to go up to a couple youngsters who are having a great time digging away and tell them they need to fill in a hole. I think the vibe from beach patrons is evident. Why is that lifeguard picking on these poor kids who are just playing, having fun and burying their cousin neck deep in the sand? In fact, we are trying to address a problem that is not all that uncommon. We are trying to prevent a sand-hole collapse. In Ocean City, there has been one fatality in the past 10 years due to a sand-hole collapse (at 7 p.m.) and two very close calls. One incident involved a young girl who needed CPR and the other a 12-year-old boy who also needed CPR to be revived. The incident involving the 12 yearold boy made national news two summers ago. One of the reasons this made national news is probably due to the fact that the outcome was so positive. The Ocean City Beach Patrol saved a boy who suffocated in a hole on the beach. However, I think we need to consider the fact that if it were not for the lifeguards’ quick response the outcome could have been fatal. All beach-goers need to heed the warning and use these incidents as a lesson about how dangerous sand holes can be. In fact, nationally, there are more sand-hole collapse fatalities than
This hole was so deep that a sixfoot man would have only been able to touch the rim with hands overhead. If this hole had collapsed, the outcome would have been a fatality.
Submitted Photo
shark attack fatalities. From 1990 to 2006, there were 16 fatal sand-hole collapses and 12 fatal shark attacks in the U.S. Just this summer there have been several national news stories about serious sand collapse entrapments that have taken large numbers of rescuers and many hours to extricate the victims. Fortunately, OC was not the location for any of these incidents. Sand holes present lifeguards with a danger that can be prevented, so we are going to continue to enforce our knee-deep policy. Our guards try to address the sand-hole issue by keeping holes less than knee deep for the person who is
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