Shellharbour City Council lifeguards recognised by APOLA

Six Shellharbour City Council lifeguards who helped save a boy struck by lightning have been recognised by the Australian Pool and Ocean Lifeguard Association (APOLA).

APOLA President and Head Lifeguard at Waverley Council, Bruce ‘Hoppo’ Hopkins this week presented the lifeguards with Meritorious Service Awards in recognition of the dangerous nature of the rescue, bravery and outstanding application of life saving rescue and first aid skills.

Hopkins, who is known around the world from the popular television show Bondi Rescue, paid tribute to the lifeguards - Thomas Bitz, Liam Pass, Sean Ritter, Deakin Southern, Daniel St George and Byron Vinkovic - at the Shellharbour Civic Centre on Wednesday 15th March.

The lifeguards involved were situated close to where the little boy was struck at Warilla Beach on 26th January.

They called emergency services and provided first aid before handing over to NSW Ambulance.

Shellharbour City Council Chief Executive, Mike Archer said he was thrilled to see Council’s lifeguards involved in the incident receive recognition from APOLA, commenting “APOLA is the peak industry body for professional lifeguards, so to have the president of their organisation come to Shellharbour and recognise our staff for the way they conducted themselves during that incident was very special.

“These young lifeguards were faced with an extremely confronting situation in which they demonstrated their professionalism, skill and composure.”

Praising the Council lifeguards’ professionalism, Hopkins added “Australia Day is one of the busiest days on the calendar for council lifeguards. After 30 years working at Bondi, I’ve come to expect the unexpected. But a lightning strike under clear blue skies directly hitting the young boy in the water is very rare.

“The way the lifeguards minimised the response time and delivered CPR to the young boy, resulting in a successful resuscitation, is testament to their training and professionalism.

“While council lifeguards don’t expect recognition, it was important for me to personally thank them for achieving such a great result.”

The six lifeguards involved in the incident also received certificates of recognition from Shellharbour City Council last month.

Images shows, from left: Deakin Southern, Liam Pass, Byron Vinkovic, Bruce Hopkins, Sean Ritter and Daniel St George. Not present: Thomas Bitz.