Every summer, millions of people head to beaches expecting a simple promise. If something goes wrong in the water, someone will come.
That someone is usually an open water lifeguard.
At SurferToday.com, we have been promoting the sharing of knowledge about water safety, surf lifesaving, and surf rescue, and highlighting the importance of lifeguards in saving hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide every year.
It seems that we, collectively, only realize that when someone close to us goes through a life-threatening event or worse, and eventually, during summer.
So, here's what reality tells us every day, especially during the warmer months.
Whether they patrol the surf at Huntington Beach, the shorebreak at Jersey beaches, or the powerful currents of the North Shore of Hawaii, open water lifeguards are often the first professionals to reach people in distress.
There's basically no one else.
They dive into dangerous surf, swim through rip currents, perform rescues, provide emergency medical care, and hand victims over to ambulance crews when they reach shore.
Now, here's the most surprising and maybe shocking part you might not know.
Despite carrying out many of the same duties as firefighters, paramedics, and police officers during emergencies, open water lifeguards are not consistently recognized as first responders under federal law.
The good news is that a resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives during the 119th Congress seeks to change that conversation.
But will it lobby through? What's at stake?
A job that begins where everyone else stops
Open water lifeguarding is unlike pool lifeguarding or most other emergency services. The workplace itself - the ocean - is unpredictable.
Ocean conditions change by the minute. You've probably witnessed that.
Rip currents form without warning; large surf, cold water, rocks, reefs, tides, and marine traffic all add to the risk.
So, every rescue begins with an assessment of hazards that can threaten both the victim and the rescuer.
The job extends well beyond pulling swimmers from the water.
Many open water lifeguards are trained in emergency medical care, spinal injury management, rescue watercraft operations, marine firefighting support, and public safety.
On busy, crowded beaches, they regularly respond to heart attacks, traumatic injuries, missing children, boating incidents, shark sightings, hazardous marine life, and environmental emergencies.
For many beachgoers, the lifeguard tower functions as the first emergency response station they encounter.
The first person on the scene
When an emergency unfolds in the surf, every second matters. There's actually a timeline of drowning, that is, stages of impact as minutes pass by.
Unlike ambulance crews, whose arrival depends on road access and dispatch times, lifeguards are already on the beach. They react within seconds.
They continuously watch swimmers, identify developing problems, and often enter the water before anyone has placed a 911 call.
That is one of the central arguments behind House Resolution 1188.
Introduced in April 2026, the resolution states that open water lifeguards perform the essential work of protecting lives while placing themselves in danger.
It also notes that many are cross-trained in emergency medical response, marine fire safety, law enforcement, and rescue craft operations.
The resolution argues that their duties fit the role of emergency response providers and first responders, and formally expresses congressional support for recognizing them as such.
The measure is symbolic rather than legally binding.
It does not automatically change federal law or extend benefits associated with first responder status.
Instead, it represents an effort to acknowledge the profession at the national level and encourage broader recognition.
And then, eventually, one day, things could change further.
The numbers behind the rescues
The scale of lifeguards' work often goes unnoticed because successful rescues rarely make national headlines.
According to the United States Lifesaving Association, beaches protected by its affiliated lifeguards record an extraordinarily low drowning rate.
The organization estimates that the chance of a person drowning at a beach protected by USLA lifeguards is approximately 1 in 18 million.
That figure reflects decades of prevention as much as rescue.
Experienced lifeguards spend much of their day moving swimmers away from rip currents, warning surfers about changing conditions, educating visitors about hazards, and spotting trouble before it becomes a life-threatening emergency.
When prevention fails, rescue becomes the priority.
The USLA says its members respond to medical emergencies, drowning incidents, severe injuries, boating accidents, and many other situations involving public safety every year.
Risk comes with the uniform
People often think of lifeguards as young athletes sitting in elevated chairs. The reality is far more demanding.
Open water rescues require swimming through breaking waves, strong currents, heavy shorebreak, or rough offshore conditions while carrying rescue equipment and supporting victims who may be panicked, injured, or unconscious.
The danger is real.
House Resolution 1188 points to the deaths of two New Jersey lifeguards in 2021 while they were performing their duties.
Their deaths serve as a reminder that rescuers sometimes become victims themselves.
Every rescue involves balancing urgency against personal safety.
Lifeguards are trained to minimize unnecessary risk, yet they regularly enter environments that most people are trying desperately to escape.
Ryder Williams became the face of the debate
The discussion about recognizing lifeguards as first responders gained fresh attention after a dramatic rescue by 16-year-old California State Parks lifeguard Ryder Williams at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz.
Williams repeatedly swam through powerful surf to keep hold of a drowning 10-year-old boy until both could reach safety.
Video of the rescue spread quickly, showing the teenager disappearing beneath breaking waves before resurfacing with the child still in his grasp.
The rescue illustrated what many professional lifeguards have argued for years.
The first emergency responder on a beach is often not an ambulance crew or a firefighter. It is the lifeguard already watching the water.
Why recognition matters
For many lifeguards, the issue extends beyond job titles.
Recognition as first responders can influence eligibility for training programs, emergency management planning, occupational protections, mental health resources, grant opportunities, and other government programs that specifically reference emergency response personnel.
Supporters also argue that formal recognition better reflects reality.
Open water lifeguards routinely make rapid medical decisions, coordinate with firefighters and police officers, communicate with emergency dispatchers, stabilize victims, and transfer patients to advanced medical teams.
In practice, they already function as part of the emergency response system.
The question raised by House Resolution 1188 is whether public policy should catch up with what happens every day on America's beaches.
For surfers, swimmers, paddlers, and families, the answer may already be visible from the nearest lifeguard tower. Long before an ambulance appears, someone has already entered the water.
Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com
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