Thursday, October 1, 2026
Long Beach lifeguards saved the life of a 2-year-old boy who had a seizure on the beach near Illinois Avenue at around 6 p.m. last Saturday — a day when the National Weather Service issued an excessive heat watch for the area.
Lifeguard Chief Paul Gillespie said the boy had a temperature of 106 degrees, and suffered heat stroke. Lifeguards were notified, and quickly took action to get the child to safety and cool him down. His mother, Annmarie Gallagher, praised them in a Facebook post.
“Teddy, lifeguard on left white towel, came to our rescue in a matter of seconds,” Gallagher wrote. “He acted immediately and appropriately to secure the safety of my son. Teddy had an EMT with us in a quick minute and all were able to stabilize my son until emergency services arrived. I can’t thank these guys enough.”
A Long Beach Fire Department ambulance transported the child to an area hospital, where he was treated and recovered, according to Fire Chief Rick DiGiacomo. Gillespie identified the lifeguards who saved the boy as Teddy Reinhard and John Burke, both veterans of the citylifeguard patrol.
The young boy was one among hundreds of saves — including minor ones, like whistling people out of danger zones where rip currents developed — that lifeguards conducted over the weekend, according to Gillespie. He added that 60 of those rescues involved lifeguards swimming out into deep water and saving swimmers who were in trouble.
“It was a big weekend,” Gillespie said. “The guards were outstanding. Our EMTs were unbelievable, helping people that suffered from heat stroke and heat exhaustion.”
EMTs had ice packs and water bottles at the ready for those who showed symptoms of heat-related illnesses.
The Weather Channel recorded a high of 94 degrees on Saturday and 95 on Sunday in Long Beach, but meteorologists said that the temperatures felt like 100 to 110 degrees due to a combination of heat and humidity.
Town of Hempstead and city officials expected large crowds at the beaches, and as a result, Town Supervisor Laura Gillen extended beach hours by an extra hour, from 6 to 7 p.m., for nine beaches — Atlantic Beach Estates, Civic Beach, East Atlantic Beach, Harbor Isle Beach, Hewlett Point Park, Lido Beach Town Park, Lido West Town Park, Town Park at Point Lookout and Town Park at Sands — from Friday to Sunday. Acting City Manager Rob Agostiti followed suit, and extended Long Beach’s hours to 7 p.m. Gillespie ordered emergency response teams to stay until 8:30 p.m.
In anticipation of the crowds and the heat, there were close to 125 lifeguards on duty over the weekend, Gillespie said, as well as six EMTs each day.
Lifeguards are still getting accustomed to new areas where there are deep holes or where rip currents develop, the result of the Army Corps of Engineers’ project to extend the shoreline and replenish sand dunes. Newly lengthened jetties have made it more difficult to monitor the beach, officials said, but lifeguards are focused, as always, on keeping swimmers away from dangerous areas.
“The dredging has caused the formation of many new sandbars and the holes that go with them,” the Lifeguard Patrol said in a statement. “Individual guards know their beaches, and keep people out of the danger areas.”
Beachgoers took to social media to thank the lifeguards for their service. “Long Beach lifeguards are without a doubt the best there is out there,” Jill Sammis-Romero wrote on Facebook. “We have some of the roughest water conditions, and they are so well trained, it’s an honor to know that they are watching over us. Thank you all.”
Gillespie also praised his team, and said they were ready for anything. “We do have lifeguards that are EMTs spread all around the beach,” he said. “We have firemen working down here, and we have medical guys. It really does help our beach. It gives more ammunition to fight the battle.”
