An Asbury Park lifeguard was impaled by a beach umbrella

An Asbury Park lifeguard sitting on the stand was impaled by a beach umbrella Wednesday morning that entered her armpit and exited her back, a fire official said.

Officials had to cut the pole, which was about an inch in diameter, on both sides to fit her into the ambulance, officials said.

“She basically had a 6-foot umbrella pole that entered into her left armpit and exited out the left side of her back,” Battalion Chief Chris Barkalow of the Asbury Park Fire Department said in a phone interview.

Barkalow said the department was called to the Third Avenue beach at 9:32 a.m. via 911 for “an impalement on the beach.”

“Other lifeguards did patient care and stabilization until we arrived,” he said. “We had to cut it into manageable sections. We can’t put a 6-foot umbrella into the ambulance.”

There was “very minimal” external bleeding, and the lifeguard was conscious and alert and did not appear to be in extreme pain, he said.

“She seemed a lot better off than I would be,” he said.

She was transported to the trauma center at Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune, he said.

The injuries “absolutely” could have been more severe had the pole entered her body in a different location, Barkalow said, adding that the lifeguard was “on the stand and then fell off,” after the impalement.

Officials cautioned beachgoers to secure their umbrellas, especially on a windy day.

The police department was also on the scene. The lifeguard’s identity was not immediately released.

Barkalow said the department has responded to impalements, like on a fence or rebar at a construction site.