Lifeguard Fired for Trying to Save Man Outside of His Zone

The "drowning" occurred in an area that was posted as "swim at your own risk". The guard left his zone to assist with the victim, knowing full well it was against policy for him to do so. What would have been REALLY bad was if someone in the "protected zone" drowned while the guard was in the "at risk" zone. Then people might have had a different view of the matter. According to recent postings, the company that fired him is "re-evaluating" their decision.

The news report I saw on TV indicated that several other lifeguards resigned to protest the firing. What was the distinction between the "covered" and "at risk" zones? Was it some more-or-less permanent natural feature (rocks, etc) or was it just a sign placed in the sand? If there was no physical difference between the two zones, why wasn't the entire area covered (park/city/hotel boundary, perhaps)?

I'll grant that a lifeguard leaving her/his position/zone or whatever could put swimmers at risk who remain within that zone, but wouldn't that also be true if the lifeguard goes to save someone within his/her assigned zone? The focus would be on that one swimmer and someone else could get into trouble at the same time. Was there only one lifeguard assigned to the area? That would be an incident waiting to happen. I seem to recall that lifeguards worked in pairs along ocean beaches, so that there would be a lifeguard at a station in case of an emergency. Even at my pool, there will often be more than one lifeguard.

What does the beach in question say about this ???

The news reports are woefully incomplete of course. I could imagine the implication of the stories taht the company was out of line for firing the guard, could be exactly right. On the other hand - suppose the guy went running down the beach to be a hero, when he should have picked up the phone? What if there was another lifeguard closer? A couple of counties up from that beach there is no phone. It's guard stands with flags... leave your chair, drop the flag and hope the next guard up or the main tower sees it. Not enough info to play the blame game.

Utterly Ridiculous! Some people in upper management have no common sense to the point they put lives at risk!!???? What is the liability risk to sit there and watch someone die?

The "drowning" occurred in an area that was posted as "swim at your own risk". The guard left his zone to assist with the victim, knowing full well it was against policy for him to do so. What would have been REALLY bad was if someone in the "protected zone" drowned while the guard was in the "at risk" zone. Then people might have had a different view of the matter. According to recent postings, the company that fired him is "re-evaluating" their decision. Leaving his zone unprotected the entire time he was off zone is definitely the issue. It will be interesting to see how Ellis handles this.

I'll grant that a lifeguard leaving her/his position/zone or whatever could put swimmers at risk who remain within that zone, but wouldn't that also be true if the lifeguard goes to save someone within his/her assigned zone? The focus would be on that one swimmer and someone else could get into trouble at the same time. Was there only one lifeguard assigned to the area? That would be an incident waiting to happen. I seem to recall that lifeguards worked in pairs along ocean beaches, so that there would be a lifeguard at a station in case of an emergency. Even at my pool, there will often be more than one lifeguard. I used to train Ellis lifeguards, zones have overlapping areas of coverage in a pool environment, not sure about open ocean. I do know in Volusia County FL (Daytona Beach area), guards work alone from guard stands set approximately 50 yards apart. In pools when a rescue is being affected, the pool is cleared so all guards can assist with the situation.

When I first started lifeguarding (Carpinteria CA) in 1964 we didn't have phones in the towers so it was important to keep an eye on the adjoining towers to provide backup if the guard went on a rescue. A couple years later , in San Diego, (where there was much more action) we had phones. If you went out on a rescue you knocked the phone off the hook alerting the main tower who then made sure others were aware that your tower was empty and the jeep would get down to your area to assist. The latest greatest thing on the cutting edge is remote control rescue bouys, blasting through the surf faster than Phelps, and the guy in the tower doesn't even have to get wet! Personal note: They're probably great, but I don't like 'em.

It turns out that the lifeguard actually made sure his area was covered before leaving it. "Now owner Jeff Ellis said they were operating under mis-information and the beach was, in reality, always covered and the lifeguards did what they were trained to do." miami.cbslocal.com/.../ Also, he decided to turn down the offer of getting his job back.