Rehoboth Beach Patrol Opens New Facility

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del – After more than six years of planning, the city of Rehoboth Beach cut the ribbon on the new Beach Patrol Center Thursday morning.

“It’s a it’s outstanding. The views you get up there, you can see the entire beach. We have 20 Lifeguard Stands and you can see stands all the way from the North, all the way to the South. And it gives a great vantage point. We average over 330 lost kids a Summer. So this is going to have a great advantage point that we can help. Spot things along a wall of lifeguards on the beach,” says Beach Patrol Captain, Jeff Giles.

Lieutenant Rawley Florax has been a part of Rehoboth Beach Patrol for the past two years, and this summer will be his fifth as a lifeguard.He walked us through how having this vantage point with the new Patrol Center will be beneficial this summer, as well as how it’s different from last year.

Florax tells us, “So on a day like today here, it really gives us a huge advantage to be able to see rip-currents coming off the beach. Currently, I can see two rip currents forming down there, which previously we would stand on these white benches and try to spot things out when we weren’t sitting or standing on the beach.”

And with Memorial Day Weekend only hours away from starting the summer season, completion came at the perfect time.

Captain Giles says, “It was quite an endeavor to get this building to where it is. And thanks to all the construction crews getting this place, getting it ready for Memorial Day, we’re all hired up…”

Captain Giles says the timing couldn’t be better because Rehoboth Beach Patrol starts their training Friday.