WATERSOUND BEACH, Fla. --- The South Walton Fire District is now the professional beach safety services provider for WaterSound Beach with the opening of its 18th lifeguard tower on Tuesday, June 10.

The tower is funded through a contractual agreement between SWFD and St. Joe Resort Operations, LLC, with support from the WaterSound Beach Homeowners Association.

“We’ve been in discussions with the WaterSound Beach HOA and St. Joe for several months to bring professional lifeguard services to this area,” said SWFD Fire Chief Ryan Crawford. “Their leadership recognizes a need for these services, so to officially open this tower is a tremendous step forward in providing coverage to a stretch of beach that was previously unguarded.”

Adding a tower to WaterSound Beach means the District is enhancing beach safety services in what lifeguards have historically considered to be the “Seven Mile Stretch.” The name encompasses an area of South Walton beaches seven miles in length with no on-site lifeguard coverage, emergency access challenges, and consistently high call volume.

“The seven miles could tax our resources quickly, but frankly it isn’t just about emergency responses to any of the unguarded beaches,” said SWFD Beach Safety Director David Vaughan. “The absence of official lifeguard services means it’s more challenging to educate face-to-face and prevent emergencies from happening altogether. The bulk of what we do is prevention, but without the opportunity to have a presence, prevention doesn’t happen as easily.”

SWFD has added four towers since the start of the 2025 Beach Safety Season on March 1 and continues hiring seasonal and full-time lifeguards of all experience levels. Follow SWFD on social media or fill out SWFD Beach Safety's Candidate Interest Card to begin the hiring process.