Ocean City Fire Department, Beach Patrol ramp up for 90 Degree days, rip current risk for 4th of July Weekend

OCEAN CITY, Md. – This holiday weekend, beach towns will see temperatures as high as the low 90s, record-high travelers, and rip tide conditions, all coming together to create a busy set of conditions for first responders.

In Ocean City, the Fire Department says they responded to 17 calls Thursday, but expect that number to more than double as they head into the weekend.

“I think what’s important is people don’t realize how quickly you become dehydrated and becoming dehydrated, just puts your whole entire cardiovascular system in a little bit of a spin, that’s when other issues could crop up,” Captain Richard Bowers said, adding “We are prepared to handle all those types of issues. And we want to make sure that without questions are handled accordingly.”

Ocean City Fire Chief Richard Bowers says they’ll have 30 staff on hand including paramedics and fire engines ready to respond.

Meanwhile, Ocean City Beach Patrol says rip current conditions forecasted for this weekend are already here, with over 50 riptide rescues happening just Thursday morning.

“We’ve already made about 50 rescues today due to rip current conditions because the wave size increase with the wind we have an on-shore wind so those rip currents are moving faster and more intense,” said Beach Patrol Captain Butch Arbin.

Arbin says they structured their training to have the most staff available for the coming days, with the final round of new recruits learning how to perform water rescues and CPR Thursday afternoon.

“We are adding stands beginning tomorrow and after this weekend into the 4th we will have mobile patrols out covering the distance between stands and will have everything we have available out on the beach,” he said.

He says people need to be mindful that dehydration, intense activity, and sun can all contribute to factors that can create an increased risk for cardiac episodes, and response calls.

“Drink water, we have our guys bring cold water and a frozen water bottle here to keep up, and we recommend people be mindful of having shade,” Arbins said adding, “if you know you are not the best swimmer this is the time to not head out far in that water.”