Bear Creek Lake is a 1,300-acre community located along Route 903 in Penn Forest Township. The development has an Olympic-sized pool and two beaches along its 160-acre lake.

Since the pool opened in mid-May, there have been four saves at the pool."We generally average four to six saves per year," said Colleen Bradley of Bear Creek Lakes. Bradley is in charge of the lifeguard program for the development."We insist on very strict training for all 13 of our lifeguards and we train an additional four times during the season," Bradley said.The four saves so far this year have all been young children."Parents watch their kids and then look away for a second, and it's enough for a problem to arise," said, senior lifeguard, Dylan Bradley.Dylan Bradley and Avery Day are both 20 years old and are the senior lifeguards at Bear Creek Lake. Both hold certificates in Red Cross lifeguard instruction and lifeguard management.The two are very involved in keeping the lifeguarding staff well-trained."In addition to having to swim a minimum of 10 laps per week, our lifeguards participate in four workshops during the season. The first workshop, at the beginning of the season, is a full review of the lifeguard training course; the second workshop is on basic scenarios and spine board use. The third workshop goes into more in-depth scenarios and the last workshop focuses on lake scenarios," Bradley said.According to Dylan, any lifeguard who misses a workshop is off the schedule until they make up the class.In addition, with the exception of the lake, lifeguards are not allowed to carry their cellphones while working and they are not permitted to have friends visit them while at work either."We are very serious about our training and we don't let up; you just can't," said Colleen Bradley.The most recent near-drowning incident involved a 7-year-old boy. The boy's grandmother turned her back and did not realize he had followed his friend onto the diving board and jumped off."Chelsea noticed that the boy did not re-emerge from the water and went in after him," said Colleen Bradley."She was in the water within nine seconds."Dylan Bradley jokingly says that everybody thinks lifeguards spend the summer just sitting in the sun."What people have to realize is six people or 60 people, we have to give each person the same level of attention."Rescues at Bear Creek Lake in 2015June 25, 1 p.m.: submersion, near drowning of a 6-year-old male, inexperienced swimmer - lifeguard, Chelsea SmelasJuly 2, noon: submersion, near drowning of a 7-year-old female, inexperienced swimmer - lifeguard, Tara HartmanJuly 25, 4:55 p.m.: distressed swimmer, near drowning of a 7-year-old male, inexperienced swimmer - lifeguard, Dylan BradleyJuly 28, 2:50 p.m.: submersion, near drowning of a 7-year-old male, inexperienced swimmer - lifeguard, Chelsea Smelas