Lifeguard Fired for Saving a Drowning Man

Tomas Lopez is a lifeguard in Florida who got fired because he saved a drowning man's life. If you think that's odd because that's exactly what a lifeguard's supposed to do, he was fired because the man was swimming outside of his zone:

"The reason I was fired is just ridiculous," Lopez told CNN late Wednesday night. "It is a ridiculous rule, really. What was I supposed to do? Just let the guy drown?"

The incident occurred Monday at Hallandale Beach in southern Florida.

Orlando-based Jeff Ellis and Associates, the company Lopez worked for, said lifeguards cannot go beyond the perimeter of the beach they are responsible for overseeing.

CNN has the story: Link


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I can sort of see their point - if he's off saving someone else, how can he be guarding the people that he's being paid to guard. But sometimes you just have to do the right thing and GailPink is right too; someone will hire him. Way to go Tomas!
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So this guy gets fired for trying to save someone, while a few counties over there's a cop that can't be fired for beating defenseless suspects. Florida: Americas' penis.
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definitely the "right" thing to do, the problem in situations like this, is that often the area they aren't supposed to go into, is dangerous and could end up putting them both in danger, on top of that, if you're off of your designated area, what if something else happens and the lifeguard is somewhere else?

In this case, the incident happened 1500 feet away from his area.

In any case, I blame the guy swimming where he shouldn't have been.
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