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Focus news agency interviewed Ilia Raev, regional manager of Bulgarian Red Cross (BRC) for Varna, about beach lifeguard practices this summer.
Q. What is the lifeguards situation at Varna’s beaches?
A. The situation is troublesome. According to standards, one lifeguards should be responsible for 100 m of the beach. At some places, lifeguards are responsible for over a kilometer. Such conditions could lead to incidents. As a result, next week Varna lifeguards will receive from the Defense Ministry a new cutter. It will start functioning in August. On June 27 and 28 we performed inspections and the results are catastrophic. Golden Sands has 2800 m of beach and the lifeguard booths there are 15. Only four of these have the equipment needed. Shkorpilovtsi’s beach has length of 400 m and two lifeguards. No lifeguard booths exist in the region of Pasha Dere, Chernomorets and Galata. Varna’s city beach is the only one featuring better conditions. Eight equipped booths function there and an additional one is to appear. We need to undertake measures to ensure the safety of beaches.
Q. What is the cause of these problems?
A. The reason is the size of beaches in Varna region and the lack of concessionaires. BRC Varna and the regional governors are doing their best to create a water safety system. Law changes are needed to ensure the safety of tourists in Bulgaria’s coastal resorts. BRC’s national council should have control over beaches. Another problem is the lack of staff. A number of beaches remain without lifeguards. Most experienced lifeguards prefer working abroad because of the better wages. Bulgaria should create good working conditions to keep these people in the country. During our inspections, we found out that many of the lifeguards were away from their area of responsibility. There are no fines introduced in such instances.
Q. What is the lifeguards situation at Varna’s beaches?
A. The situation is troublesome. According to standards, one lifeguards should be responsible for 100 m of the beach. At some places, lifeguards are responsible for over a kilometer. Such conditions could lead to incidents. As a result, next week Varna lifeguards will receive from the Defense Ministry a new cutter. It will start functioning in August. On June 27 and 28 we performed inspections and the results are catastrophic. Golden Sands has 2800 m of beach and the lifeguard booths there are 15. Only four of these have the equipment needed. Shkorpilovtsi’s beach has length of 400 m and two lifeguards. No lifeguard booths exist in the region of Pasha Dere, Chernomorets and Galata. Varna’s city beach is the only one featuring better conditions. Eight equipped booths function there and an additional one is to appear. We need to undertake measures to ensure the safety of beaches.
Q. What is the cause of these problems?
A. The reason is the size of beaches in Varna region and the lack of concessionaires. BRC Varna and the regional governors are doing their best to create a water safety system. Law changes are needed to ensure the safety of tourists in Bulgaria’s coastal resorts. BRC’s national council should have control over beaches. Another problem is the lack of staff. A number of beaches remain without lifeguards. Most experienced lifeguards prefer working abroad because of the better wages. Bulgaria should create good working conditions to keep these people in the country. During our inspections, we found out that many of the lifeguards were away from their area of responsibility. There are no fines introduced in such instances.
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