Photos by Deb Gau Above: Ivanhnoe lifeguards Abby Guza, Lauren Bowyer, Emma Jerzak and Claire Rost worked together to help maneuver Jeren Rost onto a rescue board during a drill at the Ivanhoe Community Pool on Wednesday.

IVANHOE — It was after hours, but there was still a lot of activity at the Ivanhoe Community Pool on Wednesday night. Lifeguards were stationed around the pool, and members of the Ivanhoe Ambulance service were ready and waiting nearby.

Then, lifeguard Abby Guza ducked under the water’s surface and came up in a face-down float. The drill had begun.

Lifeguards Lauren Bowyer and Karrie Richmond got into the pool to take Guza to the shallow end and get her onto a rescue board, while a third lifeguard called for the ambulance. The drill ended with Guza being lifted onto a cot and being wheeled to the ambulance.

It was an experience that was hard to describe, Guza said. “I don’t even know how to explain it.”

But it was all part of a joint training session for Ivanhoe lifeguards and ambulance service members. The lifeguards got practice rescuing drowning or injured swimmers and calling 911. At the same time, ambulance crew members were able to strategize for how they would respond in a real emergency at the pool.

Ivanhoe Ambulance co-directors Becky Paluch and Kathy Wall said the joint training session was a great opportunity.

“Kathy and I were talking about drills, and emphasizing all the ways we can give back to the community,” Paluch said. Her experiences as a lifeguard in high school and college gave her the idea for a joint training session at the pool. Paluch remembered doing lifeguard training, but never with an ambulance. It seemed like a good fit to work together with new lifeguards this summer.

“We really want to emphasize that when you have your kids here at the pool, they have good lifeguards and emergency medical services,” she said.

The group went through several different scenarios on Wednesday night, with lifeguards taking turns playing the part of drowning swimmer, or one who might have a head or spinal injury. Ambulance crew members were able to give the girls pointers on the kind of information 911 dispatchers would need from them, and how to give life-saving care.

Ambulance members also practiced accessing the pool in different ways, including bringing a cot onto the pool deck, and backing the ambulance up to the pool area.

For lifeguards, the training session was chilly, but also a helpful experience.

“I feel more confident, now that I’m more secure on what we should do in certain situations,” Bowyer said.