WBRZ - Baton Rouge

A lifeguard in Hallandale Beach, Florida was fired for assisting a drowning man because he left a section of beach his company is paid to patrol. Tomas Lopez was on duty when a beach goer asked for his help. Lopez says he ran to a man struggling in the water south of his post. By the time he got there, the man was pulled to shore by witnesses and Lopez and an off-duty nurse helped him until paramedics arrived. The man survived. But Lopez was fired from his company, Jeff Ellis and Associates, which says he broke a company rule and could have put beach goers in his section in jeopardy.