[URL="http://news.yahoo.com/florida-lifeguard-fired-trying-save-drowning-man-outside-165236910--abc-news-topstories.html"]Well, technically he was fired for leaving his zone:[/URL]
[QUOTE][B]Florida Lifeguard Fired for Trying to Save Drowning Man Outside of His Zone[/B]
A Florida lifeguard has been booted from his lifeguard chair for running to save a man who was floundering in the surf.
Tomas Lopez , 21, was fired by his supervisor for vacating his lifeguarding zone to save a man drowning in an unprotected area of the beach in Hallandale Beach, Fla., on Monday, reports the Sun Sentinel.
Lopez' employer is not paid to patrol the zone where the man had been in trouble.
According to the Sun Sentinel, Lopez was approached by a beachgoer who pointed out a man struggling in the water nearly 1,500 feet south of his post.
Instinctively, he ran down the beach to save him. By the time Lopez got to him, he had been pulled to shore by fellow beachgoers.
Following his rescue attempt, Lopez was let go for leaving the area he was supposed to be covering.
Jeff Ellis and Associates, a private aquatic safety contractor, is hired by the city to patrol the beaches. The company is also in charge of hiring and training the city's lifeguards.
Susan Ellis, spokeswoman for Jeff Ellis and Associates, told the Sun Sentinel that Lopez broke company rules when he left his zone, and cited "liability issues" that may have occurred as a result of Lopez leaving his designated area.
Ellis could not be reached for further comment.
Some of Lopez's friends rallied for him on his Facebook page where he had posted the Sun Sentinel's article.
"thats messed up but im proud of you for standing up like that and doing whats right. Tomas Lopez = Hero!!" one commenter wrote.
Tom Gill, spokesman for the United States Lifesaving Association, said Lopez's firing came across as a little harsh.
"It seems unfortunate that a guard would do what he's trained to do and be fired for it," he said.
Gill said that the boundaries set by Jeff Ellis and Associates were most likely set by the city of Hallandale Beach in a private contract.
"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," he said.
USLA is recognized as the authority on open water lifesaving by the Red Cross, and certifies agencies and associations around the country based on their training.
Gill said Jeff Ellis and Associates has not applied for certification with USLA, and so he could not speak on the company's regulations or training.
"As far as being fired for going outside the zone, I couldn't tell you how they could make that justification," he said.[/QUOTE]
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
He probably would've been fired for giving his employer bad publicity if he didn't try to save the man's life anyways.
Oh come on really? He went outside of the zone he was protecting to save someone's life! It's not as if he went out of the zone for a stroll.
It's like firing a paramedic for saving the life of someone who he wasn't called to. Where is the common sense?
This supervisor is a cunt.
serves him right for leaving his zone while on duty
i bet if obama gets re-elected he would make what the employer did illegal
Romney 2012 god bless
i understand where the employer's coming from but i don't think it warranted any sort of action
Thats fucking stupid.
Someone with the power to fire proly disliked him, and was looking for the quickest way to legally fire him...
EDIT: And by dislike I mean probably did something to piss off his employer after he got hired but wasn't able to fire him over it (like out of job action, maybe even differing opinions is en example (people get worked up over political opinions :v: ))
[I]Fucking
Florida[/I]
Why is it always Florida!?
[QUOTE=meppers;36626969]serves him right for leaving his zone while on duty
i bet if obama gets re-elected he would make what the employer did illegal
Romney 2012 god bless[/QUOTE]
I don't understand the point of this post at all. It's so dumb.
[i]"In a world, where trivial and insignificant rules take priority over the lives of people..".[/i]
Fucking despicable
Well, that's dumb
I fully understand the employer's mentality, if the lifeguard had been away from his post and someone was drowning near it, in his designated zone, and he wasn't able to save him, the employer and his company would be in [b]huge[/b] legal trouble. That being said, I do think that firing the employee wasn't the right course of action, rather making sure he understood the dangers of leaving his post unattended.
All in all, the lifeguard did the right thing and firing him was much too harsh.
"My son is drowning! Please, help him! I can't swim!"
Lifeguard: "Lol, sorry, but that's out of my designated area. Ralphie will be back on his post in 5 minutes though, tell him to wait until then!"
[QUOTE=Nikota;36627034]I don't understand the point of this post at all. It's so dumb.[/QUOTE]
[sp]It's satire[/sp]
if someone WAS in danger in his zone, then the sacking would be justified. This is pure retardation and foolishness of the reich kind.
[QUOTE=Pancake Bunny;36627259]"My son is drowning! Please, help him! I can't swim!"
Lifeguard: "Lol, sorry, but that's out of my designated area. Ralphie will be back on his post in 5 minutes though, tell him to wait until then!"[/QUOTE]
Except the zone the guy was drowning in wasn't under any kind of lifeguard protection in the first place. The swimmer should have noticed that that part of the surf was not under supervision and swimming there was risky. Like I said, the employer could've been in huge financial and legal trouble had a person drowned in area that his employees are paid to supervise. People who swim in waters away from lifeguard supervision are just as to blame for this ordeal.
Again, that being said, a human life is a human life, and the lifeguard was a good guy for trying to save him, and the employer was a dick for firing him.
[editline]4th July 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=AK'z;36627275]if someone WAS in danger in his zone, then the sacking would be justified. This is pure retardation and foolishness of the reich kind.[/QUOTE]
There would have been no way of knowing if there was going to be a person in his zone that would've been in danger.
If a person drowned in his zone, why he saved someone outside the zone, then it's justified. That's my point.
There would be a way of knowing if someone was in trouble because people have a voice.
[QUOTE=AK'z;36627322]If a person drowned in his zone, why he saved someone outside the zone, then it's justified. That's my point.
There would be a way of knowing if someone was in trouble because people have a voice.[/QUOTE]
I understand, but the risk is a risk. You still give a person a ticket when they speed, even if no one was hurt. In this case, you still punish the lifeguard, even though no one actually drowned. Lives were put in danger by his actions, regardless of his intentions, and that is fact. Yes, he's a good guy for trying to save someone that was drowning, and the supervisor is a dick for firing him, but it was still a very risky situation.
Guy didn't deserve to be fired, but the supervisor still makes a valid point.
Who really cares what designated area the lifeguard has, if you see someone drowning go save them. that's the entire point of having lifeguards in the first place.
[QUOTE=Blazyd;36627356]Who really cares what designated area the lifeguard has, if you see someone drowning go save them. that's the entire point of having lifeguards in the first place.[/QUOTE]
The law does. There are hundreds of greedy people out there who would jump on the opportunity to sue a company for any reason. If someone almost drowned and the lifeguard on duty wasn't there, they have a legitimate case to take to court against the company. Not a morally good one, but one that they'd probably win.
[QUOTE=Loriborn;36627355]I understand, but the risk is a risk. You still give a person a ticket when they speed, even if no one was hurt. In this case, you still punish the lifeguard, even though no one actually drowned. Lives were put in danger by his actions, regardless of his intentions, and that is fact. Yes, he's a good guy for trying to save someone that was drowning, and the supervisor is a dick for firing him, but it was still a very risky situation.
Guy didn't deserve to be fired, but the supervisor still makes a valid point.[/QUOTE]
It's not like he left the fucking country to save a man. He was in the SAME waters.
Within eye distance OF his zone.
"a risk is a risk", if people didn't take risks nobody would be alive.
[QUOTE=AK'z;36627403]It's not like he left the fucking country to save a man. He was in the SAME waters.
Within eye distance OF his zone.
"a risk is a risk", if people didn't take risks nobody would be alive.[/QUOTE]
I'm not saying it was morally wrong that he did it, he was a good guy for trying to save the man. I'm not arguing my own mentality either, I'm telling you the probable reason he was fired, which is, legally, justifiable. It's morally wrong, as are most business decisions, but it has reasoning and wasn't just a guy trying to get this guy fired.
"What did you get fired for from you last job?"
"Oh I tried to save someone's life out of a area I wasn't watching"
"...."
Ugh, it's one of those things that technically makes sense but is downright retarded nonetheless.
Actually he can sue.
I'm pretty sure that the Good Sumaritan act covers him.
[QUOTE=Remscar;36627597]Actually he can sue.
I'm pretty sure that the Good Sumaritan act covers him.[/QUOTE]
Good Samaritan only protects people from being sued, not fired from a job.
[editline]4th July 2012[/editline]
For instance, if I'm late to work because I was saving a driver from a wreck, I can still be legally fired.
[QUOTE=Loriborn;36627438]I'm not saying it was morally wrong that he did it, he was a good guy for trying to save the man. I'm not arguing my own mentality either, I'm telling you the probable reason he was fired, which is, legally, justifiable. It's morally wrong, as are most business decisions, but it has reasoning and wasn't just a guy trying to get this guy fired.[/QUOTE]
It shouldn't be legally right though.
I wish we still had angry mobs with pitchforks and torches. I want to go burn down the house of the dumbass who fired the lifeguard...then throw him in the water outside the zone and watch him drown.
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