Latest news with #AsburyParkFireDepartment
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Female lifeguard impaled with beach umbrella in freak accident
A young female lifeguard was impaled by a six-foot-long beach umbrella in a freak accident that left first responders scrambling to help her on a Jersey Shore. The tragic incident occurred as temperatures surged on the 3rd Avenue Beach on Wednesday in Asbury Park, New Jersey just after 9:30am. Officials believe the 20-year-old lifeguard fell off her chair as she was trying to set the large chair umbrella into place. Speaking to 7Online, lifeguard Joe Bongiovanni said: 'It was just a freak thing, as she was putting it in, the gust caught it, pulled it up, so when she grabbed it she was off-balance. 'She was on the top step of the bench, so she fell backwards off the bench and the umbrella came with her when she came down and landed on her arm.' According to Asbury Park Fire Chief Kevin Keddy, the lifeguard was struck with such force that the metal stake of the umbrella penetrated under her left armpit and burst through her back, sticking out almost one foot. What followed was an agonizing and complex rescue. Lifeguards and EMS crews quickly arrived but realized there was no way to safely move the victim while she was still impaled. Paramedics and firefighters brought in a portable bandsaw and had to cut the stake at the entry and exit points in order to fit her into the ambulance without causing further trauma. Chief Keddy said: 'The umbrella went underneath her left shoulder and out the back. It was protruding by about a foot.' First responders went onto the sands, shielding the woman from the sun with towels and umbrellas of their own while carefully slicing away the metal rod with surgical precision. Keddy said: 'We had to saw off the stake from the front and the back to make it more manageable. We bandaged her up and transported her to the hospital.' Despite the horror of her injuries, officials said the woman was 'conscious, alert, and in good spirits - all things considered,' as she was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. Beach umbrellas have a spiked end to help better secure them into the sand as their wide canopy allows them to get caught up in a strong wind if they are not anchored properly, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said. With their spiked ends and large surface areas, a sudden gust can transform them into airborne spears. The federal agency estimates about 3,000 people are injured by windblown beach umbrellas every year. In 2022, 63-year-old Tammy Perreault was killed in South Carolina when an umbrella broke free from its anchoring and impaled her in the chest. Similarly, in 2016, Lottie Michelle Belk, 55, died on a Virginia Beach after a loose umbrella struck her in the torso. Such tragic accidents have sparked renewed calls for stricter regulations on beach umbrella safety, including mandatory sand anchors, public awareness campaigns, and designated 'umbrella zones' where people must secure canopies properly or face fines.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Summer horror as female lifeguard is impaled with beach umbrella on sweltering day
A young female lifeguard is in hospital after she was impaled by her own six-foot-long beach umbrella in a freak accident that left first responders scrambling to perform a desperate rescue on Asbury Park beach in New Jersey. The incident occurred just after 9:30am on Wednesday on the 3rd Avenue Beach, as temperatures surged along the Jersey Shore. Officials believe the lifeguard, believed to be either 19 or 20-years-old, fell off her lifeguard chair as she was trying to set the large chair umbrella into place. 'It was just a freak thing, as she was putting it in, the gust caught it, pulled it up, so when she grabbed it she was off-balance, she was on the top step of the bench, so she fell backwards off the bench and the umbrella came with her when she came down and landed on her arm,' said lifeguard Joe Bongiovanni to 7Online. According to Asbury Park Fire Chief Kevin Keddy, the lifeguard was struck with such force that the metal stake of the umbrella penetrated clean under her left armpit and burst out through her back, sticking out almost one foot. What followed was an agonizing and complex rescue. Lifeguards and EMS crews quickly arrived but realized there was no way to safely move the victim with the full metal rod impaling her body. Paramedics and firefighters brought in a portable bandsaw and had to cut the stake at both entry and exit points in order to fit her into the ambulance without causing further trauma. 'The umbrella went underneath her left shoulder and out the back,' Chief Keddy confirmed. 'It was protruding by about a foot.' First responders went onto the sands, shielding the woman from the sun with towels and umbrellas of their own while carefully slicing away the metal rod with surgical precision. 'We had to saw off the stake from the front and the back to make it more manageable,' Keddy said. 'We bandaged her up and transported her to the hospital.' Despite the horror of her injuries, officials said the woman was 'conscious, alert, and in good spirits - all things considered,' as she was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. Beach umbrellas have a spiked end to help push them into the sand and their wide canopy allows them to get caught up in a strong wind if they are not anchored properly, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said. With their spiked ends and large surface areas, a sudden gust can transform them into airborne spears. "About a one-inch in diameter aluminum umbrella pole went into her left armpit and came out in her back, right near the scapula," said Asbury Park Fire Department Battalion Chief Christopher Barkalow, pictured The federal agency estimates about 3,000 people are injured by windblown beach umbrellas every year. In 2022, 63-year-old Tammy Perreault was killed in South Carolina when an umbrella broke free from its anchoring and impaled her in the chest. Similarly, in 2016, Lottie Michelle Belk, 55, died on a Virginia Beach after a loose umbrella struck her in the torso. Such tragic accidents have sparked renewed calls for stricter regulations on beach umbrella safety, including mandatory sand anchors, public awareness campaigns, and designated 'umbrella zones' where people must secure canopies properly or face fines.
The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
Jersey Shore lifeguard impaled by 6-foot-long beach umbrella pole
A lifeguard who was impaled by a 6-foot umbrella at a New Jersey beach is now recovering in a hospital, according to local officials. The woman was found wounded on the ground near her lifeguard stand on Asbury Park's 3rd Avenue Beach. The umbrella pierced her left shoulder and continued through the front of her arm. Approximately one foot of the umbrella's pole had exited her body, Asbury Park Fire Chief Kevin Keddy told ABC News. Other lifeguards rushed to her aid and provided assistance until firefighters arrived to stabilize her. Firefighters responding to the call had to cut the umbrella stake in the front in order to better manage her wound, Keddy said. Paramedics transported the lifeguard to a nearby hospital. She remained awake and alert throughout the ordeal. 'When we dropped her off, she was conscious and alert and in good spirits — all things considered,' Keddy told the The New York Post. Keddy called the lifeguard a 'tough young woman.' It's unclear exactly how the umbrella ended up lodged in her shoulder. Keddy advised that beachgoers always ensure that their umbrellas are securely driven into the sand and that they carry them with the points facing down. Beach umbrellas that catch strong winds off the sea can, if improperly secured, be blown at high speeds across beaches. While most modern beach umbrellas tend to have rounded-off plastic ends on their stakes, some companies do sell metal anchors — intended to help keep umbrellas in-place — that come to a sharp, pointed edge. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued an advisory last year about the potential dangers of umbrellas caught in the wind. The agency advised that beachgoers make sure any anchors they purchase include a label confirming it 'meets ASTM F3681 for wind speeds up to 30 miles per hour.' The agency also recommends that beachgoers close their umbrella canopies and re-bury the anchors if they ever become unstable.
