REHOBOTH BEACH, De. - Over the long holiday weekend, the sand and the sea along Rehoboth Beach was packed.
It's the duty of Rehoboth Beach Patrol to keep their eyes on the surf to assist when an emergency strikes, even when the conditions seem perfect. The eagle eye of one guard, and the teamwork of the patrol, did just that this past Sunday, saving a man's life in the process.
"With our job, we basically have to be prepared for anything," explained Chief Aaron Tartal. "This is not a typical call, but that's where the training comes in because we have to be prepared at any time to respond to a call like this."
A man in his 60s was floating in the ocean, when he went into cardiac arrest, floating face down in the water.
Lifeguards sprung into action, doing CPR and compressions, before applying a defibrillator. A nurse, who happened to be on the beach, assisted the beach patrol, calling out they had a pulse. Everyone, reacting just as they had been trained, to save this man's life.
"There's not a day that I don't go to work and I think about 'I may have to save somebody today."
Chuck Moran, a compliance officer with the beach patrol, also life guards at the area YMCA. He performed compressions on the man after the rescue.
"Cap always reminds everybody - it's up to you to put your life on the line to save somebody else's. And everybody takes that to heart, and believes it and works it," said Moran.
We could be telling an entirely different story if those lifeguards didn't spring into action so quickly or didn't have the proper training. The Sussex County Medic says he couldn't be prouder of his students, whom he trains at the beginning of each summer.
"All the work was done by the lifeguards. They did an outstanding job. Their quick response, their calm, cool, collective way of handling it, they worked as a team, and everything they train for came together in this one incident," explained Lars Granholm.
Many of the guards have gone back to school now, but Granholm says he hopes to reunite the lifeguards on that call with the patient, who's name has not been released.
Granholm told WBOC that the patient had been transferred to an out of state hospital for continued care, but seems to be doing well.
It's quick thinking and action like that of those lifeguards, that can be the difference between life and death.
"This gentleman owes a debt of gratitude to the lifeguards," said Granholm.
As we enter the off season, the Beach Patrol will only have lifeguards at certain chairs. If you plan on visiting the beach to swim, it's recommended you stop by patrol headquarters to locate a safe swimming space.
