Lifeguard fired after participating in beach rescue

As lifeguards are paid and trained to do, Tomas Lopez rushed down Hallandale Beach in Florida to rescue a drowning man and then got fired for it. The problem: Lopez stepped out of the beach zone his company is paid to patrol, a supervisor said. "I ran out to do the job I was trained to do," said Lopez, 21, of Davie. "I didn't think about it at all." At least two other lifeguards have quit in protest. "What was he supposed to do? Watch a man drown?" asked one, Szilard Janko.

Lifeguards in Hallandale Beach work for Orlando-based company Jeff Ellis and Associates, which has been providing lifeguard services for the city's beaches and pools since 2003. Company officials said Lopez broke a rule that could've put beachgoers in his designated area in jeopardy. The firm could ultimately have been sued, officials said. "We have liability issues and can't go out of the protected area," said supervisor Susan Ellis. "What he did was his own decision. He knew the company rules and did what he thought he needed to do." Lopez said he was sitting at his post at about 1:45 p.m. on Monday when someone rushed to his stand asking for help.



Lopez said he noticed a man struggling in the water south of his post. The man was previously swimming in an "unprotected" stretch of the beach, city officials confirmed. "It was a long run, but someone needed my help. I wasn't going to say no," he said. Company officials said the rescue took place about 1,500 feet south of the company's protective boundaries. The unprotected area has signs alerting beachgoers to swim at their own risk. By the time Lopez arrived, several witnesses had pulled the unidentified man out of the water. Lopez said the man appeared semi-conscious and had water in his lungs. Lopez said he and a off-duty nurse attended to the man until the city's paramedics arrived.

The man, whose identity was not released because of medical privacy laws, was taken to Aventura Hospital, where he remains in the intensive care, said city spokesman Peter Dobens. After the incident, Lopez said his boss asked him to fill out an incident report. His boss then fired him for leaving his assigned area. "They didn't tell me in a bad way. It was more like they were sorry, but rules are rules," Lopez said. "I couldn't believe what was happening." Lopez became a lifeguard four months ago after passing the company's requirements, which include swimming and physical exams. The job pays $8.25 an hour, the lifeguards said. Company officials said other lifeguards watched over Lopez's area during the rescue and were on the phone with 911 operators. "The beach remained protected at all times," Ellis said.