Lifeguard Fired for Saving Someone Refuses to Be Re-Hired - as part of the news series by GeoBeats.
A lifeguard in Florida has been fired after leaving his designated lifeguard zone to rescue a drowning man who was 15 hundred feet away. 21 year old Tomas Lopez ran to save the man who was swimming in unprotected waters. Lopez said it was an instinct and that he didn’t think about the repercussions "until after it was said and done." Two of Lopez’s coworkers were also fired shortly after the incident for admitting that they would leave their zones to help someone, and four later quit in solidarity with their coworkers in protest of the rule that they feel is nonsensical.
"I think it's ridiculous, honestly, that a sign is what separates someone from being safe and not safe," Lopez told CBS4. "Honestly, a job is not as important as a person's life." The lifeguards who were fired have been offered their jobs back but they have declined. Some of the other lifeguards have plans to work at a pool or other beaches, but Lopez plans to return to school.
