ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – More lifeguards are patrolling the beaches of Orange Beach as the summer season kicks into full swing.

“It’s the first time we’ve had towers on the beach, ever,” Beach Safety Director Melvin Shepard said. “It’s a big accomplishment for all involved, city leaders, it takes having the desire and forethought to keep the people safe down here.”

Shepard was out on the beach on a Saturday helping with refresher training for fire fighters and swimming in the surf for conditioning.

“We will have five lifeguards a day,” he said. “We’ve got some new recruits we’re hiring the first of next week. Once we get them processed, get them trained they’ll be down here. We will have a lifeguard station (at Cotton Bayou) and one at Romar Beach with a tower.”

Lifeguards at the Cotton Bayou and Romar Beach towers will have jetskis. Three other lifeguards will be roving thirds of the beach on all-terrain vehicles. One will patrol from Alabama Point to the Flora-Bama on the east side of the Perdido Pass Bridge.

Other patrols will be from the west side of the bridge to Opal condonimiums and the other from Opal to the Gulf State Park.

“It’s a long ways,” Shepard said. “Just two towers now, but we thought about putting another one down on the (east) other side and that may happen before summer’s over. At least it will give the lifeguard over there some place to get out of the sun for a little bit.”

Stepped up patrols began last year through the help of a private donation.

Fifteen-year-old Molly Bryant, of Trussville, northeast of Birmingham, drowned while on a church group trip to the beach on the Florida panhandle in July 2003.

Her parents, Tommy and Becky Bryant, visited the Baldwin coast after the BP oil spill, met with then-Fire Chief Forney Howard and offered to help support a surf rescue training program and buy rescue equipment for the city.

Lifeguards wear yellow T-shirts emblazoned with “Molly’s Patrol” on them.

In 2011 the Bryants bought the ATV for the eastern section and they offered a “significant” annual donation that allowed the city to add newer ATV units.

“They’re looking to continue funding, they’re trying to get other people to help put money in so we’ll see how that goes,” Shepard said. “We were able to purchase a new ATV this year through the Molly’s Patrol fund. One we had last year kept giving us some problems so we had the city go ahead and do an emergency purchase for a new one.”

Most of the money for the program comes from the general budget, Shepard said.

“The city itself, in the general budget, increased my line item budget significantly the last few years,” he said. “That’s where a large portion comes from. The Molly’s Patrol fund also funds the salary of at least one lifeguard and buys additional stuff that we may need, repairs and things like that.”

Shepard the reaction of the public has been overwhelmingly positive.

“The people that come here seem to enjoy it,” he said. “They are happy that we are here, that gives them another piece of mind. Like Capt. (Justin) Pierce and I were talking on the way here, a gentleman made the comment he watches his kids, but he’s not a lifeguard. Having someone here who is watching over everybody, it takes some of the stress off of him.”

So far this year Shepard said the lifeguards have had some tense moments, but none were life-threatening to swimmers.

“We’ve had a couple of rescues this year, I think four total,” he said. “We had one here the other day. A little kid on a boogie board went a little too far out and fell off and couldn’t swim. So the lifeguard when and got him and brought him back. Nothing major.

“No heat-related emergencies so far. I’m sure they’re to come as it starts getting hotter.”