Spokane says lifeguards at six city aquatic centers are Red Cross-certified and receive weekly training

Fianna, a City of Spokane staff member, said the city’s six aquatic centers will be staffed this summer by lifeguards certified through the American Red Cross who complete annual recertification and regular in‑service training.

The training description matters for swimmer safety: Fianna said the lifeguards “go through recertification training every year, and they're here to keep you and your friends and family safe.”

Fianna said the lifeguards have “taken a Red Cross lifeguarding class” and “they're all certified through Red Cross,” and that the city supplements that certification with routine practice. “They also do in service training with us every single week,” Fianna said, adding that “every other week, we'll have a really big in service, but then, on the week that we're not doing, like, a really big in service with all our staff, they'll be doing their own individual in service with inside their own home pool.”

On equipment and rescue capability, Fianna said the guards use lifeguard rescue tubes to help keep people buoyant and maintain airways and expressed confidence in their ability to handle real rescues, saying they are “really strong swimmers” and that, speaking from a personal reference, “I am, you know, a middle aged man, a little heavy set, and they can rescue me.”

The remarks describe training cadence, certification, and standard rescue equipment but do not include a formal policy adoption or vote. The presentation did not specify pool operating hours, total staffing numbers, salaries, or dates for the in‑service sessions.