Photo courtesy Foxweather.com

MIAMI – While crews were battling the brush fire spreading across West Miami-Dade, some members of the Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue performed water life safety demonstrations to keep beach goers safe during the summer time.

The MDFR conducted a live rip current rescue demonstration that highlighted the dangers of one of Florida’s leading water hazards and the lifesaving response of MDFR Ocean Rescue lifeguards.

The water rescue demonstration was performed at Haulover Beach Headquarters in North Miami Beach, which included a swimmer caught in a rip current and rescue efforts to pull him from the dangerous conditions and back to safety.

“Rip currents are responsible for over 100 drownings each year in the U.S. and account for more than 80 percent of beach rescues,” MDFR said on its website. “Unlike myths suggest, rip currents don’t pull swimmers underwater; they pull them out to sea. The danger arises when swimmers panic or exhaust themselves trying to fight the current.”

According to the National Weather Service, rip currents are one of the most dangerous and life-threatening hazards along Florida’s beaches despite experienced swimmers.

Since 2002, there have been 227 rip current fatalities in Florida and Alabama combined, more than the combined fatalities from flooding, tornadoes, lightning, and tropical storms/hurricanes in those areas.

In 2024, a total of six people died in rip currents in South Florida.

Deaths can occur year-round but are more common during spring break, summer and major holiday weekends.

Safety tips to avoid tragedy include swimming where lifeguards are near, don’t swim directly back if caught in a rip current- instead parallel to the shore until an individual is out of the current, and then return, recognize signs for choppy and discolored water, calm zones between waves, and check local flags and advisories before entering the water.