Lifesaving actions earn accolades for lifeguards

Posted on Jan 06, 2006

By Ken Dixon, January 5, 2006
©2006CONNECTICUT POST (Used with permission)

       Margaux Canevari of Stratford will always remember her second day in the tall lifeguard chair at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport.

 On that July day the 16-year-old helped save the life of a young swimmer--and before the month was over, she had two saves to her credit.
       But it runs in the family of the fourth-generation lifeguard, who, despite the accolades and award she was given Wednesday by Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Gina McCarthy, isn't sure whether she will rejoin the lifeguard corps next season.
       "It was an experience, that's for sure," the Lauralton Hall junior volleyball player said Wednesday in a phone interview after a ceremony at DEP headquarters in Hartford during which 13 lifeguards were honored.
       But she said that even for $9.10 an hour--about $2 over the minimum wage--the pressure might be too much.
       "It was July Fourth weekend, one of the busiest days of the year, and it was late in the day and I was looking forward to getting off and back home for fireworks and a party," Canevari said.
       She recalled how a young swimmer hauled an unconscious 8-year-old into view from a no-swimming area. Canevari jumped off the chair while other lifeguards radioed for backup. Jonathan Hartenbaum of Weston, a first-year lifeguard at Sherwood Island, was also credited with saving the boy.
       It happened late in the day, when tired swimmers tend to get into trouble, Canevari said.
       "It was in the unguarded area behind the rock jetty and the boy rolled over in the water with an apparent asthma attack," she said. "A group started yelling, and I got to the sandbar, checked his pulse and breathing. He was gasping."
       Her second save occurred about three weeks later, when a 69-year-old man experienced a medical emergency. While the DEP citation said he was unconscious when she hauled him out of the water, Canevari downplayed the extent of the emergency.
       The 5-foot-8-inch volleyball player, a daughter of Thomas and Anne Canevari of the Lordship neighborhood, was certified as a lifeguard in April. She is ambivalent about next season.
       "I have no problem going back, but I might look for something a little less strenuous," she said, acknowledging that her Catholic high school tradition for providing public service is another reason for continuing as a lifeguard.
       Other southwestern Connecticut lifeguards honored include Dan Clifford of Milford, who worked last year at Silver Sands State Park in Milford. On July 23, he used a kayak to paddle out to a sandbar and rescue three teenagers. Keegan Drenosky of Trumbull, a lifeguard supervisor at Silver Sands, was given an award for using a rescue board to retrieve a 17-year-old girl after she was swept off a sandbar by a current.
       Drenosky and Clifford are repeat winners of DEP lifeguard awards.
       "During the summer season, our lifeguards demonstrate a strong sense of responsibility while patrolling the beaches," McCarthy said. "Their presence helps make Connecticut's parks safe and attractive places to visit for both state residents and tourists." Last summer, about 1.8 million people, including 304,861 at Sherwood Island, visited state parks that offer swimming.