Greenwood’s public swimming pool is scheduled to open in 10 days.
Without the help of five city firefighters who recently received certification as lifeguards, Eddie “Sonny” Brown Memorial Pool might not have opened at all.
Fire Chief Marcus Banks said he was talking with Regina Rich, the city’s personnel director, last year about the difficulty she was having hiring certified lifeguards. Banks had a brainstorm.
“I thought about my firefighters,” he said.
Banks, himself a former lifeguard at Mississippi Valley State University, said having the pool open is important. “I want the kids in the neighborhood to have the same opportunity that I did,” he said.
“As a kid, I swam that pool. While my parents taught me to swim in Grenada Lake, I did my first dive at that pool.”
Banks’ enthusiasm was embraced by Mayor Carolyn McAdams.
“We had been struggling with this. The expense of becoming a lifeguard was pretty high,” she said.
“He came in here and said, ‘Look, I think I can get firefighters to serve as lifeguards,’” McAdams said.
The mayor said the city can schedule the firefighters’ time at the pool entirely in-house, since they are already city employees. “It was a no-brainer,” she said.
The firefighters will be paid minimum wage while serving as lifeguards.
Banks said initially 10 firefighters expressed interest in lifeguarding, but half were scared off apparently by one of the certification requirements.
“That 300-yard swim was not going to be easy,” the chief said.
The final five — Lt. Jason Wallace, Fireman 1st Class Wayland Rice, Firefighter Andrew Utz, Sgt. Alfred King Jr. and Firefighter Hunter Flannagan — were certified after completing training at Mississippi State University on May 3.
“They did a great job,” Banks said.
Tammy Holmes, the pool’s full-time manager, was also certified as a lifeguard, and Banks himself was recertified.
McAdams and Banks both said the training will give the firefighters more experience with water rescues, something that will come in handy in the future.
“You never know what emergency you’ll encounter,” Banks said.
McAdams said the firefighters will also be able to offer individualized swimming instruction at the pool, something that hasn’t been offered before.
Susan Bailey, director of the Greenwood Public Works Department, said the pool on Avenue N is ready to open June 12. It will stay open through July 23.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
