DAYTONA BEACH — When Jacob Bulger became a lifeguard for Volusia County Beach Safety Ocean Rescue after high school graduation in 2015, he had no idea that he was launching a family tradition.
Now a junior at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Bulger, 21, soon will be working his fourth summer in lifeguard towers on Volusia County beaches, part of an influx of summer seasonal recruits.
Joining him on the roughly 200-member lifeguard staff will be his younger brother, Sam, 19, now in his third summer, and his sister, Sarah, 17, in her second summer on the beach.
And there’s a new trainee in the family, too. Kim Bulger — Jacob, Sam and Sarah’s mother — is a lifeguard-in-training, eager to join her children on the job as soon as she passes the rigorous physical requirements: swimming 500 meters freestyle in under 10 minutes; swimming 50 yards freestyle in under 30 seconds; and running half a mile in less than 3 minutes and 15 seconds.
“I just started in April, so I’m technically still a recruit,” said Kim, 48, a registered nurse who thinks her medical training for that job was a selling point that countered her age, above the average for lifeguards. “I was not the oldest recruit they’ve ever had, but I was the oldest in my class.”
Nevertheless, mom wasn’t intimidated by the physical requirements.
A marathon runner who started training for triathlons this year, Kim had missed her required times by slim margins before a broken left foot interrupted her training. Her time for the half-mile run, for instance, was 3 minutes and 40 seconds, 25 seconds off the required pace. By doctor’s orders, she is in the midst of a four-week waiting period before she can put weight on her foot again.
Meanwhile, her kids will represent on the beach.
“It definitely inspires a good work ethic,” said Sam, 19, who just finished his freshman year at UCF, where he plans to major in nursing. “We do a drill every morning, and we’re constantly pushed to be better.”
Those who meet the lifeguards’ physical requirements then must attend a 48-hour ocean rescue training and complete a 40-hour first-responder and CPR training course or provide proof of equivalence, said Capt. Tammy Malphurs, public information officer for Ocean Rescue and a veteran of the county’s lifeguard towers.
It’s not unusual for the lifeguard experience to become a family affair, said Malphurs, whose son, Brandon Marris, also was a lifeguard.
Maphurs said other family connections include former Deputy Chief Lifeguard Scott Petersohn and his daughter, Hallie Petersohn; and Kevin Sweat, another ex-director, and his son, Hunter, now working in his first year on the job, among others.
“These kids come to us and after a summer, you see a big difference in them,” Malphurs said. “Young people gain a lot of self-confidence, a lot of self-discipline and maturity from this job. Kids who are maybe a little shy at first, we see them develop through the years as a lifeguard.”
Jacob Bulger, who is majoring in business and finance, attests to the job’s impact on his life.
“It’s a huge responsibility that they are giving to kids just out of high school or college, and it’s definitely something that helped me grow as a person,” said Jacob, whose part-time duty this summer will be curtailed by classes at UCF. “That ability to act quickly as soon as you realize something is happening and then being able to act on instinct is a huge attribute that I will be able to transition into the finance career.”
For Jacob, there wasn’t much time to shake off initial nervousness. His first solo weekend on a lifeguard tower was the Memorial Day holiday of 2015, when powerful rip currents required lifeguards to pull roughly 500 people from waters up and down the county’s 47 miles of beach.
“It was very stressful for me,” Jacob said. “I had a lot of anxiety that weekend, but I also had my first rescue and having that experience helped me to know that I was confident enough to do it. Eventually, when you’re working five days a week, you get used to it, so everything comes naturally to you.”
There also were nerves for Sarah, the Bulger family’s youngest lifeguard, who will graduate in December from Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange with an AA degree through dual enrollment at Daytona State College. Her lifeguard training has helped her achieve her academic goals, she said.
“It definitely helped me learn about working hard for what you want and not giving up because it’s not easy,” said Sarah, sidelined briefly this summer from lifeguard towers after fracturing an elbow in a school volleyball game. “It taught me discipline to do what you’re supposed to do even when no one’s watching and to do your job well.”