Man, you gotta love Florida.  In the state that just gave an 18-year-old kid a 161-year sentence for armed robbery, a lifeguard was fired Monday for saving somebody.  Yes, you read that right.  The Associated Press reports that lifeguard Tomas Lopez “left the section of a south Florida beach his company is paid to patrol” to save a drowning person, which is apparently a big no-no in the rule book.  Never mind that there was a person floundering around in the water—after helping the drowning man until paramedics arrived, Lopez was promptly fired.  I guess he should’ve just left the non-professional witnesses to do what is supposed to be his job…

Jeff Ellis and Associates, an “aquatic safety and risk management” consulting firm, boasts on its website “The accountability built into the Lifeguard license is what separates us from the competition and is the single most important reason why E&A client facilities can boast zero drownings in five years.”  However, that statistic is only taking into account the sections of beaches they’re paid to patrol.  (I wonder who’s in charge of those other sections…)

In any case, there are a few sections of Hallandale Beach that are less safe than before.  Following Lopez’s firing, two of his colleagues have quit in protest.