Orange Beach purchases new fortified lifeguard tower

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. (WKRG) — The city of Orange Beach is making sure lifeguards are safe while working on the beach with the addition of a brand-new enclosed lifeguard tower by Perdido Pass.

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Brett Lesinger, the chief of Orange Beach Surf Rescue, said he and his team realized they needed an enclosed space for lifeguards after last summer.

“The goal was to protect the lifeguards when they are on duty and that’s what this enclosed lifeguard tower is able to do for us, it provides a lot of things for lifeguards to get out of the elements,” Lesinger said.

This tower cost the city $76,000 and it’s the very first fortified lifeguard tower in the state of Alabama. According to Lesinger, the cost was well worth it given the extreme conditions, including heat and inclement weather that lifeguards endure.

“Lifeguarding is an outdoor job, so they endure all the elements, so if the windows are 30 miles an hour, they’re guarding in 30-mile-per-hour winds, so this tower is a great presence out on our beach to allow lifeguards to be here and watch people swim safely,” Lesinger said.

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Along with keeping the lifeguards safe, the tower has safety features that help lifeguards keep beach-goers safe. The tower reportedly has tinted windows that can help with glare issues that lifeguards face.

“It has an almost 360-degree deck that the lifeguards can stand up and view on, which this beach has hazards to the north and to the south, it’s also eight feet elevated so that gives them a little higher angle perspective than people who are in the water,” Lesinger said.

Lesinger says they hope to purchase enclosed towers for all the public beaches at some point this season.

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