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Introduction

The Ocean Safety Division falls under the Department of Emergency Medical Services for the City & County of Honolulu.  The lifeguards division provides lifeguard and rescue services at nineteen (19) beach parks on Oahu, most of which come under the jurisdiction of the city and county.

Department Structure

Ocean Safety Administration and Districts

The Ocean Safety Division is headed by an Ocean Safety Administrator and key administrative secretarial and clerical support personnel.

The department has four districts, each of which have one captain and two lieutenants.

District 1: Area between Pearl Harbor to Hanauma Bay
District 2: Area between Hanauma Bay to Kahuku Point
District 3: Area between Kahuku Point to Kaena Point
District 4: Area between Kaena Point to Pearl Harbor

Ocean Safety Officers

Captains: Serve as operations, district, and training supervisors
Lieutenants: Links between beach personnel and the division's administration.

The division is staffed by 91 full-time Ocean Safety Officers, augmented by 90-100 part-time, contract hire lifeguards who work on weekends, holidays, and to fill-in for staff leaves. (Source: http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/wsafety.html - 1995)

Radio Communications

Prior to transitioning to the 800 MHz, lifeguard operations were conducted on a single-channel UHF frequency, of which is listed in the table below.

District	Area	Frequency	FCC Callsigns
Islandwide	Islandwide	F-1 (453.850)	N/A

In late October 2001, all Ocean Safety districts switched all communications to the Honolulu County 800 MHz trunked radio system.  They operate on analog mode using one of four district talkgroups.  I-CALL is commonly used for radio-to-radio transmissions.  Only a handful of scanners are able to monitor these communications.

Information on the Honolulu EDACS Trunked Radio System can be found here.

Radio Call Signs and Lifeguard Tower Information

Ocean Safety Officers use the callsigns in the Tower ID list as shown below.

CALL SIGN	USER
Rescue 1
Rescue 2
Rescue 3
Rescue 4
Rescue 5
Rescue 6
Rescue 7
Rescue 8
Rescue 9
Sub 1		District 1 Substation, Ala Moana Beach Park
Sub 2		District 2 Substation
Sub 3		District 3 Substation
Sub 4		District 4 Substation
101		District 1 Captain
102		District 1 Lieutenant I
103		District 1 Lieutenant II
201		District 2 Captain
202		District 2 Lieutenant I
203		District 2 Lieutenant II
301		District 3 Captain
302		District 3 Lieutenant I
303		District 3 Lieutenant II
401		District 4 Captain
402		District 4 Lieutenant I
403		District 4 Lieutenant II

CALL SIGN	LOCATION				DISTRICT
Beach 1		Ala Moana		
Tower 1B	Ala Moana Beach Park - West		District 1
Tower 1C	Ala Moana Beach Park - Central 1	District 1
Tower 1D	Ala Moana Beach Park - Central 2	District 1
Tower 1E	Ala Moana Beach Park - Central 3	District 1
Tower 1G	Ala Moana Beach Park - Magic Island	District 1

Beach 2		Waikiki				
Tower 2A	Outrigger Waikiki			District 1
Tower 2B	Canoes Waikiki				District 1
Tower 2C	Waikiki Beach				District 1
Tower 2D	Kuhio Beach Park (Walls)		District 1
Tower 2E	Kapiolani Beach Park			District 1
Tower 2F	Queens Surf Beach			District 1
Tower 2G	Waikiki Natatorium			District 1
Tower 2H	Queens Surf Beach			District 1

Beach 3		Hanauma Bay				
Tower 3A	Hanauma Bay South			District 1
Tower 3B	Hanauma Bay East			District 1

Beach 4		Sandy Beach				
Tower 4A	Sandy Beach West			District 1
Tower 4B	Sandy Beach East			District 1

Beach 5		Makapuu			
Tower 5		Makapuu Beach Park			District 2

Beach 6		Waimanalo Area				
Tower 6A	Waimanalo State Beach Park		District 2
Tower 6B	Waimanalo Beach Park			District 2

Beach 7		Bellows					
Tower 7		Bellows Beach Park			District 2

Beach 8		Kailua					
Tower 8		Kailua Beach Park			District 2

Beach 9		Kualoa
Tower 9		Kualoa Beach Park			District 2

Beach 25	Sunset Beach
Tower 25	Sunset Beach				District 3

Beach 26	Ehukai
Tower 26	Ehukai Beach Park			District 3

Beach 27	Ke Waena
Tower 27	Ke Waena Beach				District 3

Beach 29	Waimea
Tower 29	Waimea Bay				District 3

Beach 31	Haleiwa
Tower 31	Haleiwa-Alii Beach			District 3

Beach 41	Nanakuli
Tower 41A	Nanakuli Beach Park - Zabland		District 4
Tower 41B	Nanakuli Beach Park - Parks

Beach 42	Depots
Tower 42	Depots Beach Park			District 4

Beach 43	Maili
Tower 43A	Maili Beach				District 4
Tower 43B	Maili Beach

Beach 45	Pokai Bay
Tower 45A	Pokai Bay Beach Park			District 4
Tower 45B	Pokai Bay Beach Park			District 4

Beach 47	Makaha
Tower 47A	Makaha Beach				District 4
Tower 47B	Makaha Beach				District 4

Beach 50	Keawaula / Yokohama Bay
Tower 50	Keawaula Beach Park			District 4

Work Schedules

A typical schedule is 0900-1730 daily.  Radio tests are done just prior to shift start.  During periods of high-surf, unusual ocean conditions, or even beach population can alter both start and end times.

For More Information

Official Honolulu Ocean Safety Website
Previous website: http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/

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