.jpg) | |
| Operational area | |
|---|---|
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County |  Los Angeles |
| Agency overview | |
| Established | 1914 |
| Employees | 788 lifeguards[1] (2021) |
| Staffing | Combination (Recurrent & Career) |
| EMS level | Basic Life Support (BLS) & Advanced Life Support (ALS)[citation needed] |
| Facilities and equipment | |
| Stations | 24 lifeguard stations, 159 lifeguard towers[1] (2021) |
| Fireboats | 8[1] (2021) |
| Website | |
| fire.lacounty.gov | |
Los Angeles County Lifeguards is a division of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The lifeguard operations safeguard 31 miles (50 km) of beach and 72 miles (116 km) of coastline, from San Pedro in the south, to Malibu in the north.[2] The Los Angeles County Lifeguards are the largest professional lifeguard service in the world, and as of 2021, employs 174 full-time lifeguards and 614 recurrent lifeguards.[1]
The Los Angeles County Lifeguards served as the model for the hit television series Baywatch which was created by recurrent lifeguard Gregory J. Bonann.[3]
Los Angeles County Lifeguards also provide marine firefighting, paramedic, and fire boat services to Catalina Island, with operations out of Avalon and the Isthmus[clarification needed].[4] Other daily fire boat services operate out of Los Angeles Harbor (Baywatch Cabrillo), King Harbor (Baywatch Redondo), Marina Del Rey (Baywatch Del Rey and Baywatch Santa Monica) and Malibu Pier (Baywatch Malibu). In addition to providing marine firefighting, LA County Lifeguards have specialized training for fire boat operations
Prior to July 1, 1994, Los Angeles County Lifeguards were part of the Department of Beaches and Harbors.[5]
- ^ a b c d "2021 County of Los Angeles Fire Department Annual Report" (PDF). Los Angeles County Fire Department. July 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
- ^ "County of Los Angeles Fire Department". County of Los Angeles Fire Department. 2019-09-03. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (2017-05-28). "'Baywatch' Origin Story: How One Lifeguard Turned His Dream Into A Hassle That Paid Hoff". IndieWire. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
- ^ "Catalina Islands Baywatch". ecatalina.com. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
- ^ "Lifeguard History - Los Angeles County Fire Department". Archived from the original on 2017-03-17.