Lifeguard policy questioned after near-drowning of girl at Dartmouth beach

A day at the beach was no picnic for one Nova Scotia family as a couple's five-year-old daughter almost drowned and had to be rescued by her father when they say the lifeguards on duty did not assist with the rescue effort.

Carolyn Fifield and her husband were at Albro Lake Beach in Dartmouth on Canada Day with their three children and friends. Her daughter, Annika, was swimming with friends who are stronger swimmers than her and she was out farther than she should have been.

"She went under and was really struggling," said Fifield.

The mother says she wasn't paying as close attention as she should have been, but thankfully her husband was. He ran into the water fully clothed to rescue Annika.

'They didn't move at all'

Fifield says her daughter was fine, but she was unimpressed with the behaviour of the two lifeguards who were on duty, both for not responding to the situation and for their actions afterward.

"They just stood by the chair and they didn't come to the water's edge to see if she was fine. They didn't move at all," said Fifield.

"I was really quite floored, they seemed unconcerned. There was a child out in the water that was drowning."

Afterwards, Fifield spoke with the lifeguards and asked them if they saw what had happened. She says they told her they saw what happened and that because the child's father was heading into the water to make the rescue, they thought she would be fine.

Fifield noticed the lifeguards were asking questions about the child's age.

"They basically indicated to me it's the policy that any children under the age of eight is the responsibility of their parents to watch," she said.

"They kind of indicated that because she was under eight, that we should have been out there with her and there is not much they could do."

City policy regarding lifeguard supervision

The city has its official policy — on supervising children in the water — posted on the aquatics part of its website, and not the beaches section.

It says that for every three children under the age of six, there must be one adult within arm's reach of them. For kids who are six and seven years old, there must be one adult accompanying them.

"This is just in addition to the fact that lifeguards are ultimately responsible for everybody in the water, regardless of age," said Jen Nagle, an aquatic and leisure specialist with the Halifax Regional Municipality.

"All of our lifeguards are instructed that any time somebody is in distress or somebody needs help, that they are to respond and help out to the best of their ability."

She says the policy is also posted on signs at pools and written on boards at the beach.

Nagle visited Albro Lake Beach on Thursday and said there is a posted reminder that parents should remain within arm's reach of their children. The reminder does not include the details of the policy, she said.

Fifield says she did not see the sign at the beach. When she told other parents about the policy, she says they too were unaware of it.
"Be super vigilant and know the lifeguards on duty aren't necessarily to be counted on 100 per cent," she said.

"Your child in the water is your responsibility and things can happen so quickly."