On Friday, July 15, Seal Beach Lifeguard Brandon Lutgendorf rescued a man who was having difficulty breathing.
It was 3 p.m. Lutgendorf was working Tower 3. While scanning the water near the tower, Lutgendorf heard someone call out for a lifeguard, according to Marine Safety (Lifeguard) Department Chief Joe Bailey.
“He looked to his left and noticed a man collapsed at the waterline while being helped out of the water. Brandon quickly grabbed his med box, airway bag and fins and proceeded to the location,” Bailey wrote.
Lutgendorf helped pull the man out of the water.
“The patient was non-responsive and unconscious,” Bailey wrote. Lutgendorf found the elderly man had a pulse, but he was not breathing effectively.
“Brandon quickly grabbed his bag valve mask out of the airway bag and began assisting the patient with breathing,” Bailey wrote. “At this point other lifeguards arrived to help Brandon put the patient on a backboard and transport him to Lifeguard Headquarters, where (Orange County Fire Authority) paramedics were waiting,” Bailey wrote.
