Dewey Beach Patrol captain: mild summer brings few coastal hazards

A calm summer brought few coastal hazards, said Dewey Beach Patrol Capt. Todd Fritchman in his annual report to commissioners Dec. 15.

Stats were down across the board in 2023 due to mild ocean energy, Fritchman said. Hurricane-like situations boosted numbers the last two weeks of the season, he said.

Lifeguards completed six open-water rescues, which occur when a swimmer is unable to return to shore on their own, Fritchman said, as well as 10 open-water assists, when a swimmer is in distress.

Guards responded to 25 major emergency medical responses, including cardiac arrest, traumatic injury and broken bones, that required transport, he said. Guards also cared for 15 minor first-aid cases that did not need transport, he said.

Patrol members also assisted with locating and recovering 12 missing persons, including children and adults. Guards work closely with Dewey and state park police departments to coordinate and collaborate on searches for missing persons, he said.

The beach was evacuated seven times for lightning and three times for water incidents, Fritchman said.

“We do not include in this statistic removing swimmers because of marine activity,” Fritchman said. “There's an underlying word we don't like to use behind marine activity because if that’s heard amongst beach people, mass chaos takes place psychologically.”

Such activity includes bait fish and bunker schools coming along the coastline, Fritchman said, noting that he has observed an increase in marine activity.

“In fact, there’s tuna fish all along our coastline right now, and I'm going out to get one in the morning,” he said.

Regarding behavior that violates civil code, Fritchman said, guards first issue information regarding the town’s ordinances and laws, and if the behavior continues, police are called for intervention, which happened seven times this summer. 

Dewey Beach Patrol teamed with other members of the Sussex County Lifesaving Association to compete as one unit in the United States Lifesaving Association National Lifeguard Championship, he said, where some patrols, such as the one in Los Angeles County, have thousands of lifeguards.

This year, Sussex County finished second in the nation overall, he said, noting his son, C.J. Fritchman, was named national champion in the men’s beach flags event. The sprint team placed fifth in the nation.

For the 2024 season, Fritchman said he budgeted 105 operational days. With town approval, he said, lifeguards will resume partial operations May 24, with the full operational season running from May 25 through Sept. 6.

Fritchman said his biggest recommendation for next season is to raise the entry-level hourly wage to $17.

“Not only have we always been behind, but now we are significantly behind,” he said. “Significant to the point where it’s being recognized by our staff.”

The Dewey Beach Patrol is nationally accredited by the USLA to certify members in open-water rescue, Fritchman said, and each guard is a certified emergency first responder and healthcare provider.

That said, the town invests heavily in training and certifying lifeguards, he said, but guards have left for other agencies where starting salaries and tier waging rates are higher.

For instance, he said Bethany Beach patrol has a $782,000 budget and Rehoboth Beach Patrol has a $650,000 budget. Dewey’s is a quarter-million under each, he said.

In addition to the rate adjustment, Fritchman proposed a 25-cent raise for returning guards that would cap at five years. The command staff starting salary should begin at $18.25 and be capped at $19.25, he said.

“Otherwise we’re training lifeguards for other people,” he said.