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britannia drowning death spurs lifesaving society audit of ottawa's beaches
following the drowning of a nine-year-old boy at britannia beach on june 3 — lifeguards were not on duty — the coroner’s office recommended the city conduct an extensive review.
aug 1 2024
3 minute read
britannia beach was a popular spot for those seeking to beat the heat on thursday with a dip in the waters of the ottawa river.
jean levac
/
postmedia
lindsay hodgins was taking full advantage of the cool waters of the ottawa river in the scorching heat thursday afternoon.
amid the large crowd of full of adults, teenagers, children from day camps, tourists and lifeguards at britannia beach, hodgins set up shop with her daughters, blair, eight, and liv, six.
staying cool was the main goal, but hodgins said she was aware of a tragic drowning at the beach on june 3 and repeatedly reminded her daughters of proper water safety.
“they are good swimmers, but it’s about water safety,” hodgins said. “we have life-jackets because you just never know what the current or what the undertow is.”
just 20 feet from where hodgins was standing as she spoke, a sign on the beach warned of a steep drop off after entering the water. only minutes before her arrival at the beach, a lifeguard had sprung into action to rescue a boy who was flailing away after suddenly finding himself in deep water.
a beach drowning is a family’s worst nightmare.
accordingly, the lifesaving society will be conducting an exhaustive safety audit of the city of ottawa beaches at britannia, mooney’s bay, petrie island and westboro beginning next week.
following the drowning of a nine-year-old boy at britannia on june 3 — lifeguards were not on duty — the ontario coroner’s office recommended the city conduct the extensive review.
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“the city is focused on a good, comprehensive audit,” said michael shane, safety management director of the lifesaving society’s ontario division. “it’s all about enhancing safety in any aquatic environment.”
shane said the safety concerns for public beaches were significantly different than those for public pools.
“you can see the bottom of a pool, you know the depth and it’s a lot more of a controlled environment,” he said. “at the beach, the depth changes.”
additionally, public beaches aren’t always supervised.
the death of the nine-year-old came before the city of ottawa’s lifeguard staff began summer duty. ever since, there has been heated community debate about whether to expand the lifeguard season and their hours.
according to the ottawa drowning prevention coalition, only one per cent of drownings occur when a lifeguard is present.
“in ontario, there’s regulation that all public pools are supervised, but there is no regulation for public beaches,” shane said.
the formal audit of the ottawa beaches will involve three stages.
the first involves a review of all information detailing how a facility is operated.
the second includes an on-site visit by the lifesaving canada and going through a detailed checklist of safety procedures.
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“depending on the complexity, it could be three or four hours in length,” shane said.
once a visit is completed, lifesaving canada will conduct interviews with supervising staff and managers.
“we put all that together into a report which contains recommendations,” shane said.
without further study, shane said he couldn’t talk about safety problems specific to ottawa, but he said there was a focus across canada to educate everyone about potential water dangers.
swim to survive, a program beginning in grade 3, is designed to provide basic skills, including the ability to be able to swim at least 50 metres or to tread water for a minute.
“we use term ‘swim’ loosely,” shane said. “what it means is being able to hold your head above water for 50 metres.”
for anyone who can’t swim, shane emphasizes, it’s vital to wear personal flotation devices.
“the thing with beaches is it’s not a uniform depth,” he said. “sometimes you can think it’s shallow, but it can drop off in a hurry.”
as for being around the beach on thursday, hodgins said she felt safe with the environment and with the preparations she had taken with her daughters. they’ve taken swim lessons and are comfortable around water.
“i don’t come here regularly, so i can’t really speak to what i’ve seen here, but, if there’s a lifeguard on duty, generally i feel that it’s a safe place to swim,” she said.
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“but also you’re responsible for who you bring (to the beach) and for yourself, as well.”
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