Public Employee Press

Brighton Beach
Lifesavers
By DIANE S. WILLIAMS



Parks Department Lifeguards pulled a drowning man to safety at Brighton Beach July 19.

"It was a team effort," said Lifeguard Brianna Minogue, 17, who blew the first whistle signaling for help when she spotted a man face down in the surf.

Brighton Beach, one of nine public beaches in New York City, was packed. The heat index, which combines temperature and humidity, was around 108 that day. Trained by the Parks Dept. to scan the waters for beachgoers in trouble like other certified lifeguards, Minogue, who has been a Lifeguard for two summers, said, "I saw him and counted for down time.

"I grabbed a buoy and dashed to the water. Lieutenant Kirk A'Gard also responded. Other Lifeguards ran with the backboard and a stretcher," she said.

A'gard and Minogue, Parks Dept. first responders, pulled the 6-foot-4 man from the water.

"Jezebel Erazo started compressions, then Inez Zuska took over. He was purple and foaming from the mouth. I held his head because he was having seizures. There was no pulse. He was not breathing," Minogue recalled.

"In nine years, I had never had anything so serious. I never had to perform CPR until this episode," said Lifeguard Inez Zuska, who performed chest compressions, part of the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training she received on the job. "I took over for two minutes. At first there was no pulse, no breathing.

"We repositioned him and I saw him gasp," Zuska said. "I felt like passing out for happiness - it actually worked. Having someone's life in my hands, I really didn't think about it. I concentrated on what I learned in nine years of lifeguard training and school," said the nursing major at New York University. "I tried not to freeze. It came automatically; it's so drilled in my head."

"This is a demonstration of individual heroism which results from the excellent training that prepares Lifeguards to respond to these types of emergencies," said Local 508 President Peter Stein.

Lifeguard Supervisors in Local 508 train and certify City Lifeguards before the summer season begins. Crews of Lifeguards and Sr. Lifeguards in Local 461 prepare for emergencies with reviews and drills where they swim, run, and practice CPR each morning. Starting Memorial Day weekend when city beaches open, City Lifeguards work six days a week on a 48-hour weekly schedule.

"It was amazing how it happened," said Minogue. "He was in a very bad state." Emergency Medical Technicians in Local 2507 rushed Dimitry Zhalkevich to Coney Island Hospital, where he recovered after a three-week stay.

When Zhalkevich visited the Lifeguards to thank them for saving his life, Minogue said, "It was like seeing a ghost. Not many 17-year-olds can say they witnessed a miracle. I'm so lucky to work with the people I do. All of us were on the case. Teamwork saved his life."

The Parks Dept. named Zuska and Minogue, a senior at Bishop Kearney High School, employees of the month and issued commendations for their "exceptional work."