Hallandale Beach's lifeguard battlefront a cautionary account

Last week's adventure about the Hallandale Bank lifeguard accursed for rescuing a swimmer alfresco the breadth area he was stationed, has gone viral, fabricated account about the world, and landed the 21-year-old lifeguard on the "The Today Show."

It's a adventure with resonance in any bank town.

Unlike Volusia County, Hallandale Beach, a city-limits about the admeasurement of Ormond Beach, outsources its lifeguard casework to a clandestine company. Jeff Ellis Administration of Orlando assassin Tomas Lopez at $8.25 an hour to watch over an breadth aural Hallandale Beach's arrangement and boilerplate else. No, not even in amnion aural afterimage breadth he is on duty. That's why there are all those "swim at your own risk" signs nearby.

Yet endure Monday, if he spotted a swimmer in ache 1,500 anxiety from the breadth beneath his watch, Lopez came to the swimmer's aid and begin him dejected and coughing up water.

And Lopez's acknowledgment for his quick cerebration and acknowledgment to an emergency? He was accursed by the end of the day. The aggregation cited "liability issues."

The accessible abuse was direct afterwards the South Florida Sun-Sentinel appear the story. The aggregation after offered Lopez his job back, but he declined.

I acknowledgment this adventure because this is an acclamation year, and every acclamation year the Bank Convoying is a big, fat simple ambition for politicians.

Yes, it's an big-ticket operation. And yes, it still is a continued way from operating according to the affable esplanade forester archetypal it's declared to be appetite for.

And sure, I still see the convoying applique about in those big ol' air-conditioned trucks with smoked windows instead of the smaller, accessible cars they're declared to be application now.

But hey, you wish to devolve this plan aback to cities that can't allow to do the job right? You wish to outsource lifeguard plan on the cheap? Well, adapt for situations like the one in Hallandale Beach, complete with the "swim at your own risk" signs.

This is a big beach. On the Fourth of July, with apathetic after-effects and bright skies, Volusia lifeguards still had to cull 36 humans from the water. And none of those lifeguards had to alternate a additional to admiration if the disturbing swimmers were in the appropriate zone, on the appropriate ancillary of the city-limits limits, or if extenuative them was acceptable beneath arrangement rules.

Something to anticipate about next time you apprehend anyone allocution about the simple asset we'd accretion by breaking up the Bank Convoying and administration of the beach.