A Florida lifeguard fired for helping save a man outside his zone has rebuffed the offer of his job back.
Tomas Lopez, whose situation garnered international attention, said he appreciated the gesture but wanted to get on with his future.
"I really am humbled by your apology," he told his former employer on CNN Thursday night. "It's nothing against the company. I'm going to move on to the next stage of my life."
The 21-year-old lifeguard was a hero to many after leaving his post to help rescue a man in a section of beach that is officially unprotected. His firing caused an uproar and sparked a classically American debate – against the backdrop of Floridians' reputation for being notoriously litigious – about initiative, personal responsibility and following the rules.
Officials with Jeff Ellis Management, the private company contracted to watch swimmers in parts of Hallandale Beach, south of Fort Lauderdale, had answered critics by warning about liability concerns and the chance that Mr. Lopez endangered swimmers by leaving his post.
Mr. Ellis said in a telephone interview from Florida earlier Thursday that they were conducting an internal investigation. In his CNN appearance in the evening, he said they had concluded that the breaking of the rules did not rise to the level that would warrant a termination.
A number of Mr. Lopez' colleagues who had registered their disgust at his firing by quitting the lifeguard firm also will be offered their jobs back.
The incident brought to a head concerns about the policy among some lifeguards. Between two and seven have quit – the exact number is unclear and Mr. Ellis himself said he did not know – and several have been voicing their frustration.
"If I see anyone drowning, regardless of where they are, I'm going to save them," Zoard Janko, who could not be reached, told WPLG 10 News. "Because I'm a lifeguard. And even as a human I'm going to save them if I see they need help. And they told me I was fired."
Mr. Ellis said he was aware of only the one termination, of Mr. Lopez.
Officials in the community, which is popular with Quebec snowbirds, had slammed the decision to dismiss the young man and a former politician has questioned whether the relationship with the company should have begun.
Peter Dobens, spokesman for the city of Hallandale Beach, said Thursday the beaches still were being properly guarded this week, which included the busy 4-July holiday, though his understanding was that some company supervisors had to be brought in to fill gaps. The city was still trying to get answers about this week's incident. But they seemed displeased with what they'd heard so far.
"It's always been the city's policy that if there's a life in danger, whether in a protected area or an unprotected area, then the lifeguard will respond," Mr. Dobens said from Florida.
Oliver Moore