WE WAS DUPED AGAIN….
When Scot Fowler came to the podium …residents of LBTS were given to believe that this experienced Ocean Rescue VFD member would be in charge of the new LBTS-VFD Beach Patrol program ….producing a first class group of volunteers who would be on our beach …protecting our residents and tourists and making the $40 thousand+ investment in the ATVs an appropriate expenditure ….
Within a few months …VFD member Scot Fowler resigned on August 8,2008…..after being a VFD member since August 9,2004…and coming to speak on this very topic in 2006…(see below link)…
Why…..not hard to figure out….”How The Sausage Was Made”…. The Beach Patrol version…..any bets?….
Ocean Rescue Fort Lauderdale
http://ci.ftlaud.fl.us/oceanrescue/
http://74.125.45.104/search?q=cache:wrnOuTLlAGcJ:ci.ftlaud.fl.us/documents/comm_minutes
07/110607cc_regminutesrev.pdf+scot+fowler
+fort+lauderdale+lifeguard&hl=e
“Assistant Fire Chief McInerny presented lifesaving awards to Lifeguards Gio Serrano, Bill Evans and Lieutenant Scot Fowler who saved an individual found face down in the surf.”
WORDS FROM 2006….DO WE EVER MOVE FORWARD IN THIS TOWN?……
http://www.bytheseafuture.org/0019.html
“Last week, Mayor Oliver Parker asked a noted writer and expert on ocean lifeguard techniques, Dr. John Fletmeyer, to speak at the meeting. Fletmeyer had planned to discuss liabilities, proactive education and alternatives to lifeguards.
Fletmeyer�s discussion included possible training for safety and fire officials on how to react if they were called to a possible drowning. But Fletmeyer was brushed off before any dialogue could be initiated when Commissioner Jerry McIntee informed the commission that the volunteer fire fighters were already training with one of their own volunteers.
They are training, according to volunteer fire fighter Lt. Scott Fowler, a Fort Lauderdale life guard, to be able to assist swimmers in distress.
Fowler added that volunteer fire fighters are actually going into rip currents and learning how to escape. But, according to Fowler, these are part of the volunteer regular training sessions, and there is no organized class to train volunteers as certified lifeguards.
http://www.bytheseafuture.org/0022.html
“Two recent drownings earlier this year has brought to the forefront the question of whether the town should hire lifeguards.
Lauderdale-By-The-Sea has 2.3 miles of unprotected beach, where for years, swimmers have been swimming at their own risk. BSO records indicate that five deaths from drowning have occurred off LBTS beaches since April 2002.
Commissioner Jerry McIntee, also the volunteer fire deputy chief, told the commission that his volunteers had already begun training under the instruction of Lt. Scott Fowler, a volunteer fire fighter. Fowler also works fulltime with Fort Lauderdale and part time with Pompano Beach as an ocean lifeguard. His lifeguard certification is through the Red Cross.
�We meet on Thursday nights at the ocean and practice life saving techniques,� said Fowler. �We also practice in swimming pools and sometime at the Intracoastal.� Fowler added that no formal class for certification has yet been formed.
�It�s tough to get that many people together,� said Fowler.”
THE “HITS” JUST KEEP ON COMING….
instead of a first rate Beach patrol…led by Scot Fowler or another qualified lifeguard with similar experience and qualifications….
we have a McIntee “toy” for travel around town…and daily jaunts on the beach to hand out his “cards” to beach- goers… along with becoming the de-facto Beach Patrol “Training Officer”…
Oversight is called for….NOW!…..
Tags: beach parol, Local News, Local Politics, ocean rescue, Scoops, VFD
