Los Angeles County Fire Department - Lifeguards

LIFEGUARD DIVISIONAL ORGANIZATION

The Los Angeles County Lifeguards are a division of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department. The head of the Lifeguard Division is the Chief Lifeguard. Within the Fire Department chain of command, the Chief Lifeguard answers to the Deputy Chief, Central Regional Operations Bureau.

The Lifeguard Division is divided into six sections: Administrative, Training, Southern, Central, Northern and Rescue Boat.

The Administrative Section, frequently referred to as “Division”, is located in Venice, and is the main administrative site for Lifeguard operations. The Chief, Assistant Chief, Administrative Captain, and two Ocean Lifeguard Specialists are assigned to this section.

The Training Section is located in Manhattan Beach, and coordinates the Division’s training, community services, and youth programs. The Training Section Chief, Training Captain, Community Services Captain, and several Ocean Lifeguard Specialists are assigned to this section.

The Lifeguard Division also has four operational sections:

 Northern Section; headquartered at Zuma Beach, provides Ocean Lifeguard service for the Malibu coastal areas between Nicholas Canyon and Big Rock (Malibu).

 Central Section; headquartered next to the Santa Monica pier, provides Ocean Lifeguard service for Las Tunas, Topanga, Will Rogers, Santa Monica, Venice, and Marina Del Rey.

 Southern Section; headquartered next to the Hermosa Pier, provides Ocean Lifeguard service from the Southern jetty of Marina Del Rey to San Pedro, including Playa Del Rey, Dockweiler, El Porto, Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo, Torrance and Cabrillo beaches as well as Abalone Cove, Point Fermin and White’s Point on Palos Verdes.

 Rescue Boat Section; headquartered next to the Baywatch Del Rey Slip in Marina Del Rey, provides rescue boat service for all three beach sections and Catalina Island

A Section Chief is in charge of each section and is responsible to the Chief Lifeguard for the operation of the section. Within each section are specific beach areas, each under the command of an Area Captain who is responsible to the Section Chief. An area may be divided into sub-areas, each of which will be led by an Ocean Lifeguard Specialist. The Ocean Lifeguard Specialist is responsible to the Area Captain for the operation of his sub-area, and oversees all Ocean Lifeguards for his area.

The Rescue Boats and Catalina Island are under the command of the Rescue Boat Section Chief, with operations based at Cabrillo, Redondo, Marina Del Rey, and Malibu. A Rescue Boat Captain operates the boat with an Ocean Lifeguard Specialist as the deckhand. The Rescue Boat Section Chief coordinates boat maintenance, repairs and scheduling. Catalina Island operations are based at Avalon and at the Isthmus. A Senior Rescue Boat Captain, and a Rescue Boat Captain are in charge at Avalon. Two Rescue Boat Captains are in charge at the Isthmus. Ocean Lifeguard beach service is provided for Avalon, and Paramedic Rescue Boats serve Avalon and the Isthmus.