How to be Safe at the Beach

Butch Arbin was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He Graduated from Parkville Senior High School. While at Parkville, Butch participated in Band, Cross Country, indoor and outdoor track. At the young age of 15, while still attending high school, Butch took and passed the Ocean City Beach Patrol test. This was a turning point in his life as he took residence and began working in Ocean City. Butch Arbin has served the patrol for 35 years. He became Captain in 1997. In the winter months Butch works for Charles County Public Schools as an Aerospace Engineering Instructor at Lackey High School. In addition he works at the central office in Charles County where he coordinates the Gateway to Technology classes, which is part of the Project Lead The Way Program. Butch Arbin has 2 careers and 2 lives that are 65 miles and 4 hours apart. One career back in Charles County with teaching and the other is Captain of the Ocean City Beach Patrol. He leads and supervises over 200 employees dedicated to ocean rescue and maintaining a safe and orderly environment along the 10.5 miles of oceanfront beach. This professional organization is dedicated to making visitors’ stay at the beach as safe and enjoyable as possible through its mission of education, prevention and intervention. This Ocean City Beach Patrol is one of the finest life saving organizations in the world. This Beach Patrol has earned the Outstanding EMS Program Award by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS). The award was presented at the State House in Annapolis. The Ocean City Beach Patrol has also been honored as an EMS provider of the year for Maryland. This is an especially meaningful award since the OCBP is not technically an EMS operation and this award has never gone to a non-traditional EMS organization. The Ocean City Beach Patrol has been recognized for their numerous AED saves, many successful prevention and public education programs, and for developing a technique for stabilizing and removing patients from the surf who have suspected spinal cord injuries. This technique was recently accepted as a state standard of care by MIEMSS and with their assistance has developed a video to help train others. The number one priority of the Ocean City Beach Patrol is public education. Safety seminars are presented throughout the year to all types of groups and organizations not only in Ocean City but throughout the mid-Atlantic area. One note worthy activity that sets the Ocean City Beach Patrol apart from other beach patrols around the world are the weekly beach safety seminars that are held at many locations every Sunday on the beach for newly arriving visitors. Each summer the Beach Patrol conducts a Junior Beach Patrol program for youth 10-16 years old and allows participants to move through various levels as they return each year. Butch Arbin feels fortunate to have the opportunity to lead such a fine organization and work with the best surf rescue professionals in the field of water safety.