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Title: Jeff Ellis and Associates Fire Lifeguard for Saving a Drowning Man.
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URL Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/fired-flor ... workers-exit/story?id=16711655
Published: Jul 4, 2012
Author: ALEXIS SHAW
Post Date: 2012-07-04 20:08:38 by A K A Stone
Keywords: None
Views: 2288
Comments: 1
Six Florida lifeguards have lost their jobs for backing a coworker's decision to save a man struggling in the surf but outside their jurisdiction.
Tomas Lopez , 21, was fired Monday for vacating his lifeguarding zone to save a man drowning in unprotected waters 1,500 feet south of his post on Hallandale Beach, Fla.
"I knew I broke the rules," said Lopez, who ran past the buoy marking the boundary of his patrol zone to help the man. "I told the manager, I'm fired aren't I?"
Lopez said he jumped into the water and "I double underhooked him…I was worried about the guy and his health. He was blue."
Six of Lopez's coworkers said they would have done the same thing. And now, they've been fired too. PHOTO: Tomas Lopez, seen here in this undated photo, was fired from his job as a lifeguard after saving a drowning man outside of the zone his company was hired to watch. Facebook Tomas Lopez, seen here in this undated photo,... View Full Size Memorial Day Weekend Sighting: Robot Lifeguards Watch Video Robotic Lifeguard Named Emily Saves Swimmers Watch Video Dog Saves Puppy From Drowning in Pool Watch Video
"I can listen to the rule and tell them that I wouldn't help someone who was distressed, but I knew if the incident ever came up I would go," said 19-year-old Brian Ritchie, who was fired today for saying he too would rescue someone outside his patrol zone.
"What we're basically supposed to do is watch them die," said 16-year-old Zoard Janko, who also backed Lopez's decision.
A spokesman for Jeff Ellis and Associates, the aquatic safety contractor that fired Lopez, said in a statement that "We have liability issues and can't go out of the protected area."
"Usually when the municipalities hire someone to [lifeguard], those organizations are not only taking on the responsibility of the job, but a lot of the liability," said Tom Gill, a spokesman for the United States Lifesaving Association. But, he added, "It seems unfortunate that a guard would do what he's trained to do and be fired for it."
By the time Lopez arrived on the scene, other beachgoers had dragged the unconscious man ashore and started CPR. He is recovering at Aventura Hospital, according to the Sun Sentinel.
Lopez said he didn't think about the consequences of his instinctive run "until after it was said and done."
"[We] should have jurisdiction to help someone without worrying about losing our jobs," he said.
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Here's an update to this story; The Hallandale Beach lifeguard who was fired earlier this week for leaving his zone to help rescue a nearby swimmer will get an offer to go back to work, his top boss said Thursday. In a telephone interview early Thursday afternoon, Jeff Ellis, the head of Jeff Ellis Management said lifeguard Tomas Lopez was fired too quickly. "I am of the opinion that the supervisors acted hastily, " Ellis said. Ellis said since Monday's incident, he's been able to confirm that no area of the beach that his company is contracted to patrol was left unattended while Lopez went out of the area to assist a swimmer in distress. Given those circumstances, Lopez should not have been fired, Ellis said.
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