Lifeguard sacked after saving drowning man outside his beach patrol

**Zuberi** · 5th-July-2012

Lifeguard sacked after saving drowning man outside his beach patrol
Lifeguard sacked after saving drowning man outside his beach patrol - Telegraph

A young lifeguard in Florida has lost his job after rescuing a drowning man in a section of beach he was not assigned to patrol, local news media reported on Wednesday.

Tomas Lopez, 21, was manning his post on Hallandale Beach, north of Miami, on Monday afternoon when a beachgoer alerted him to a swimmer struggling in an "unprotected" part of the beach.

"It was a long run, but someone needed my help. I wasn't going to say no," said Lopez, quoted by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper.

Would they have sacked him if.........you know the rest!

**FloatyBoaty** · 5th-July-2012

It makes as much sense as.... actually, I have no idea....

**Celtic Druid** · 5th-July-2012

This more highlights the madness of political correctness.

The Lifeguard not only deserves a commendation and a manly pat on the back, but also promoted to the job the jobsworth who sacked him. Any decent mayor would be jumping all over this lunacy and backing him up 100%.

It reminds me of several ridiculous incidences where British 'firefighters' weren't allowed to save burning/drowning citizens because of health and safety bollocks. I think at one incident firemen stood around while a man drowned in a waist-deep pond because they didn't have the right gear.

Tell you what, if you think you can help out your fellow citizen in such an emergency, do it, help her/him. As with everything else in life, don't rely on the state if you can avoid it!

**YellowRobin** · 5th-July-2012

Yet more red tape PC gone mad.

I would have done the same thing. I know rules are there for a reason but saving someone's life is more than reasonable justification for bending them.

A couple of years ago in Ayrshire Scotland a woman fell down a mineshaft. She was down there for 6 hours because health and safety rules prevented firefighters from getting her out sooner. She had a heart attack and died when she was eventually taken out.

BBC News - Rules criticised after Ayrshire mine shaft death

**Yan Yan** · 5th-July-2012

There's a British term 'jobsworth'. Google/Yahoo/Bling it and see what comes up.

**KellyMac** · 5th-July-2012

From the article: "No longer in a job that pays $8.25 an hour, Lopez said he would do what he did again if he had to. "It was the moral thing to do," he said. "I would never pick a job over my morals.""

He's 21. This is a young man with the courage of his convictions. Good for him.

**haute macabre** · 5th-July-2012

What the hell? You do the right thing and you get fired? This world is getting more stupid and idiotic as time goes on.

**muse** · 6th-July-2012

And on top of that he probably has a girlfriend that doesn't appreciate him either... The world is $h!tting all over this poor dude. Bet he feels like Keanu Reeves...

**KellyMac** · 6th-July-2012

Quote from muse

And on top of that he probably has a girlfriend that doesn't appreciate him either... The world is $h!tting all over this poor dude. Bet he feels like Keanu Reeves...

OR maybe he has a girlfriend who is supportive and contributed to him having the courage of his convictions. You can't just generalize like that, Muse. Not only does it just look like a whine, it doesn't do anything to bring anyone up. In a way it takes away from the beauty of the story.

**Popadibs** · 6th-July-2012

Quote from muse

And on top of that he probably has a girlfriend that doesn't appreciate him either... The world is $h!tting all over this poor dude. Bet he feels like Keanu Reeves...

Quote from KellyMac

OR maybe he has a girlfriend who is supportive and contributed to him having the courage of his convictions. You can't just generalize like that, Muse. Not only does it just look like a whine, it doesn't do anything to bring anyone up. In a way it takes away from the beauty of the story.

Both are speculation. None of us know for sure about his girlfriend, if he has one. Saying he probably has a girlfriend that doesn't appreciate him is going out on a limb just as much as saying he maybe has a girlfriend who is supportive and contributed to him having the courage of his convictions. Was his girlfriend part of the story? How is she even part of the picture? The fact is that this man is heroic and should be rewarded rather than punished.

**Les Bowring** · 6th-July-2012

That's typical of jobsworth bosses who hide behind rules and regulations. Why has the use of common sense fallen out of use around the world the guy did his job to the fullest of potential and saved the man

**KellyMac** · 6th-July-2012

Quote from Popadibs

Both are speculation. None of us know for sure about his girlfriend, if he has one. Saying he probably has a girlfriend that doesn't appreciate him is going out on a limb just as much as saying he maybe has a girlfriend who is supportive and contributed to him having the courage of his convictions. Was his girlfriend part of the story? How is she even part of the picture? The fact is that this man is heroic and should be rewarded rather than punished.

That was the I was trying unsuccessfully to make. Making assumptions does no one any good. We have to stick with whaf we know.

**muse** · 6th-July-2012

Quote from KellyMac

OR maybe he has a girlfriend who is supportive and contributed to him having the courage of his convictions. You can't just generalize like that, Muse. Not only does it just look like a whine, it doesn't do anything to bring anyone up. In a way it takes away from the beauty of the story.

Yeeeeeah that was an attempt at humor..... Trying to make people laugh no longer equal to uplifting? Gotcha.

**KellyMac** · 6th-July-2012

Quote from muse

Yeeeeeah that was an attempt at humor..... Trying to make people laugh no longer equal to uplifting? Gotcha.

Sorry, I missed it. There are so many posts like that that are meant seriously. I'm just trying to get people to realize they're only bringing themselves down when they do that.

**Yan Yan** · 6th-July-2012

Quote from muse

Yeeeeeah that was an attempt at humor..... Trying to make people laugh no longer equal to uplifting? Gotcha.

Don't lose sleep over it :-)

You raise an interesting point. Is he more attractive to women because he's a hero? Or is he less attractive because he's out of a job?

And then again... what does his value in the eyes of women matter at all?