Several lifeguards employed at an Orlando-based company, are out of a job after one of their co-workers was fired for rescuing a drowning man outside of the company’s zone of protected beach.
Tomas Lopez, 21, a lifeguard at the Hallandale Beach, was fired by Jeff Ellis and Associates on Monday, after he jumped into action and saved the life of a man who was drowning, outside of the area the company provides surveillance. Several other co-workers of Lopez also resigned as a mark of protest and in solidarity with him.
Initially, Lopez did not see the man, but told WFTV, “I’m looking, I don’t see anyone. They said, ‘He’s way down over there,’ so I just started running.”
Lopez was about 1,500 feet beyond the company’s legally defined zone, when he saved the man’s life, according to news reports,
On Thursday, the Miami Herald reported that Lopez was offered his job back by the company, but he “humbly declined.” He plans to take a break and focus on his studies, the paper also reported.
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