First Flight visit kicked off a special hands-on water safety and emergency response educational event
WATCH: A special hands-on water safety and emergency response educational event presented by Aquatics & Education – with the support of Palm Bay Fire Rescue, Health First, and Brevard Public Schools. (Health First video)
BREVARD COUNTY • PALM BAY, FLORIDA – Against the backdrop of a chilly, but crystal-clear Friday sky, dozens of Sunrise Elementary School 6th graders ventured out of their classrooms and looked upward for a view of the Health First First Flight Air Ambulance making its approach for a landing.
The First Flight visit kicked off a special hands-on water safety and emergency response educational event presented by Aquatics & Education, with the support of Palm Bay Fire Rescue, Health First, and Brevard Public Schools.
As part of this community outreach event, the Health First First Flight crew made a special appearance, providing students with a powerful, real-world demonstration of how emergency response systems work when seconds matter.
This initiative is made possible through a partnership with “Every Child A Swimmer” and is designed to provide students with age-appropriate, evidence-informed water safety education and emergency response awareness through engaging, interactive, and experiential learning.
According to Aquatics & Education CEO Brooke Bothun, Florida remains the nation’s highest-ranking state for childhood drowning deaths, with 119 child fatalities reported in 2025, including five in Brevard County.
Drowning incidents are fast, silent, and preventable; however, many children and families lack exposure to critical, life-saving skills such as recognizing aquatic distress, activating emergency response systems and understanding the fundamentals of hands-only CPR.
“By bringing first responders, emergency medical professionals, and water safety advocates together, this initiative emphasizes prevention before an emergency occurs and equips students with age-appropriate, actionable knowledge that extends beyond the pool and into everyday life,” said Bothun.
Dr. Larrisa Dudley, medical director for both First Flight and Palm Bay Fire Rescue, as well as medical director for the Holmes Regional Medical Center Emergency Department, said this effort reflects a shared community responsibility to educate, empower, and protect our youngest residents through awareness and early prevention.
“Together, we can strengthen our collective approach to water safety and make a lasting impact on the well-being of children and families throughout Brevard County,” said Dr. Dudley.
“It’s very important to teach these kids as early as possible the value of learning to swim, safety, procedures and how to be able to help if they should ever encounter a scenario when someone is in distress. Partnering with Aquatics & Education and Brooke to provide – not only swim safety for these kids during the summer months, but especially in the winter months when it’s too cold -to have these kids practice and learn hands-on CPR to that they’re able to help or maybe they should ever run into a situation.
“This is a perfect example of when we use the seasons to try to guide our educational programs. So, in the summer, it’s optimized to use the pools. It’s warm, and everyone’s comfortable being outside in their bathing suits. But here on a colder day like today in January, we’re really trying to use what we have to our benefit. Today, instead of focusing specifically on actual swimming techniques, we’re focusing on CPR and how to be able to resuscitate somebody should they come into a situation that needs resuscitation,” said Dr. Dudley.
In addition to providing an opportunity to learn hands-on lifesaving skills, an important takeaway was helping students understand what to tell a 911 dispatcher, emphasizing the importance of sharing their location as clearly and accurately as possible.
“Using some of our local resources, and what Brooke brings to the table is, is a unique resource that she gives us for our public education,” said Palm Bay Fire Rescue Assistant Chief John Ringleb.
“So anytime she has an opportunity to reach into the schools where young adults and adolescents are, we always want to try to support that initiative that she’s doing. She is kind of a one-off in that regard for us here in Brevard and in Palm Bay. So, we’re always trying to support all of her swim and water safety initiatives, hands-only CPR, what to do if there’s an emergency, and calling 911.
“From a fire department perspective, anytime we have an opportunity to get into the schools, not only to teach a message about safety or EMS or how to do CPR but also building this connection between the schools and the fire department just so that we can sort of bridge the community together piece by piece. It’s a great opportunity to do that. Kids go home and they talk to their parents. ‘Hey, I saw a helicopter today. I saw a fire truck today.’ We can kind of get our arms around a lot of things all in one shot at an event like this just by showing up and doing these community education events,” said Ringleb.
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