ORANGE BEACH, Ala -- GULF SHORES, Ala. -- The summer’s just a few weeks old but lifeguards and firefighters have been busy already on Pleasure Island beaches.

Before and after last weekend’s three-day rain event, crews were inundated with calls for swimmers in distress. In Gulf Shores on June 7 alone 20 people were rescued from the surf.

In the same period in Orange Beach at least 11 were pulled from the surf and two were airlifted to hospitals in Pensacola.

“You have to look after people for their own safety, but they did a good job,” Gulf Shores City Councilman Steve Jones said. “They represented the city very well and I think congratulations are due to our public safety people.”

Friday was a busy day for lifeguards in Orange Beach as well.

“Friday in the rough surf we had lifeguards go out on three rescues that day in front of the new lifeguard tower,” Beach safety Director Melvin Shepard said. “We were there and lifeguards responded from there and rescued somebody. Many times they go into the water where many of you wouldn’t enter, shouldn’t enter.”

Shepard was asked by Mayor Tony Kennon to give a report on his service’s recent activity at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

“Some of these guys just blow my mind with how willing they are to risk their lives for some of these that don’t know what double red flags mean,” Kennon said. “The fact that two of our guys went into the water to retrieve someone after dark – I’m not talking about sunset, I’m talking about pitch black – and retrieved them. It’s amazing to me.”

That was a Sunday night incident where an adolescent was one of two pulled from the water and flown to Sacred Heart. Battalion Chief Jeff Smith of Orange Beach Fire and Rescue wasn’t on duty but said the night rescue came with a bit of luck.

“They said if they hadn’t been lucky and had some people with flashlights trained on the person they’d never have gotten them out of the water,” Smith said. “But they were actually rescued by firefighters, pulled in and sent off by helicopter.”

Smith said the adolescent was conscious breathing when they were flown out.

“The incident the mayor’s talking about occurred at 9 o’clock Sunday night,” Shepard said. “We got a call for a swimmer in distress at Opal Place. The firefighters responded because we weren’t on duty. Firefighters James Kincaid and Brad May were the ones that went out in the water at night and retrieved the two individuals.”

In the Monday afternoon incident a man in his 50s was pulled from the water and was unconscious when he was flown out, officials said. A few minutes after that incident, crews got another call to the same State Park beach across from Caribe Resort, but that swimmer managed to get out of the water.

Smith had barely gotten off the scene of the first Monday afternoon incident when the second call came out.

“We actually left the beach and I took a friend of the man over to Caribe to his vehicle,” Smith said. “I was going over the bridge and got another call to the same place. I turned around and by the time I got back there they’d already pulled them out of the water.”

It was just one of many calls for Orange Beach crews on Monday.

“(Monday) we had 10 total swimmers in distress calls of those five were at shell parking lot (across from Caribe), the other five were just east of the jetties,” Shepard said. “Three occurred at 6:30 last night as we were leaving. We were called back to assist in that rescue. All three patients were transported at their request.”

Shepard said the lifeguards continue to be well-received by the public.

“We’ve had about 4,000 public contacts so far and probably 2,500 public assists and preventative actions,” he said. “The support we’ve gotten so far is greatly appreciated from every one of these young gentlemen. That’s the job that these kids and young gentlemen take upon themselves and they set out to do every day and make sure everybody returns safely home.”

Orange Beach Fire Chief Shane Phillips thanked the City Council for its help in getting lifeguards and fire crews the equipment they need.

“I’d like to thank you personally because seven of those rescues were made by the jetskis y’all let us buy this year,” Phillips said.

There have already been several drownings this year. On Monday night a 41-year-year old Georgia woman drowned swimming in the Fort Morgan area out of Gulf Shores jurisdiction.

On April 18 two teen-agers were pulled from surf in separate incidents, one near the 300 block of East Boulevard and the other at the State Park pavilion, and both later died at area hospitals.