Florida lifeguard declines job offer after being fired for saving drowning man

A Florida lifeguard was fired after saving a drowning man outside his jurisdiction. He has since said he will decline an offer to return. (iStockphoto)

A Florida lifeguard who was fired for helping a drowning man outside of his designated area will be offered his job back, but has said he will decline.

While manning his post at Hallandale Beach, Fla., Tomaz Lopez was informed about a man struggling in a "swim at your own risk area," according to TIME Newsfeed.

Lopez, 21, and an off-duty nurse rushed to pull the man out of the water and attended to him until paramedics arrived. The man is now reported to be in stable condition.

After filing an incident report to his employer, Lopez was fired for moving to an area outside of his assigned jurisdiction.

His employer, Jeff Ellis & Associates, Inc., originally said that by leaving his jurisdiction, Lopez became a legal liability by leaving his assigned area unattended.

At least two other lifeguards were fired after telling their supervisors that they would have done the same thing in Lopez's situation, and four others quit in protest to Lopez's release.

"They sat me down and told me that my answer will determine if I get to keep my job or not," Travis Madrid, 20, told the Sun-Sentinel. "When I told him I would do the same thing, they told me I was dismissed."

"What was he supposed to do? Watch a man drown?" Szilard Janko, one of the lifeguards who quit, told The Miami Herald.

But on Thursday, company head Jeff Ellis said that while the incident is under investigation, Lopez was will be offered his job back.

"To me that was the most critical question: Was the beach ever left unattended?" Ellis told the Sun-Sentinel. "I have since learned that answer is no. The beach was supervised at all times."

Lopez said that he will decline the offer, however. "It's not out of spite against the company," he told the Sun-Sentinel. "After all is said, I really just want to move on and get another job."