Safety in Numbers

Twelve-year-old Weston Henrichs doesn’t consider himself a hero. In fact, he says he was just doing what he was trained to do as a junior lifeguard when he pulled a toddler from the deep end of a friend’s swimming pool.

“My friend hesitated and I jumped in after her,” Weston said. “I grabbed her across the chest and pulled her from the deep end. My friend’s mom wasn’t near. She was in the house.”

That rescue was three years ago. Weston learned the lifesaving skill at the junior lifeguard training camp he has attended for the past four summers at Castaic Lake. This summer, Weston is among 180 other kids, ages 9 to 17, honing their swimming and rescue skills at the program by the county’s Parks and Recreation Department.

“They’re learning water safety. They’re having fun in the sun and they’re staying out of trouble,” said program director Tracy Hild, standing on the beach and watching the youngsters execute water-rescue drills.

For five hours a day, four days a week, campers learn basic lifeguard skills, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, first aid and self-defense. Water sports like snorkeling, kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding and jet skiing also are offered.

The young rescuers also hear guest lecturers, go on field trips and square off against other junior lifeguard squads from Irwindale and San Dimas in regional competitions.

The camp’s current, four-week session ends Thursday). Applications are being accepted for a second, four-week session that runs from July 27 to Aug. 20.

“This [program] is a good way to break them in and to get them to think about the responsibilities they will have to deal with as a senior lifeguard,” said instructor Ingrid Hyross.

In Weston’s case, the training came in handy surprisingly fast.

Only days before he pulled the toddler from the pool, Weston told his mother he had been bored by a CPR lecture he sat through at camp, saying he’d heard it all before.

“This just goes to show you that it was worth sitting through that class because it probably refreshed your memory,” Dianne Henrichs said she told her son after the incident.

“He was nervous after [the rescue] when he realized what he had done,” she said. “I was really proud of him.”