Thursday, October 1, 2026
Three swimmers were pulled from the ocean on Tuesday by off-duty lifeguards and city firefighters and taken to Long Beach Medical Center, after a holiday weekend in which the Fire Department received more than 60 emergency calls and lifeguards rescued a 3-year-old boy in an outdoor pool on Shore Road.
On Tuesday, three men were rescued off the Long Beach Road beach. Two of them were taken to Long Beach Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. According to Fire Chief Richard Corbett, firefighters received a call at 4 p.m., and off-duty lifeguards were the first to reach the swimmers, who were shouting for help. The men were given first aid on shore, according to Corbett, before they were taken to the hospital.
City officials said that the long weekend was a busy one, with lifeguards and firefighters rescuing a number of swimmers who found themselves pulled out by strong rip currents, while police contended with what they described as a “near riot” on Memorial Day at the Riverside Boulevard Beach (see story, page 9).
Corbett said that the Fire Department had a total of 63 calls for assistance from Friday night through Monday night. Some, he said, led to rescues of swimmers who nearly drowned while lifeguards were not on duty.
“Over the last three years, the water has been bad at this time,” said Chief of Lifeguards Paul Gillespie. “It hasn’t gotten any better. The rip currents have gotten bad.”
The rescues came on the heels of a press conference at the Allegria Hotel on May 18 aimed at raising residents’ and visitors’ awareness of the importance of beach safety. City Manager Charles Theofan, joined by Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, Gillespie and others, announced the release of a 10-minute public service announcement that illustrates the dangers of swimming when lifeguards are not on duty.
Theofan said afterward that lifeguards would be on duty — at some 25 stations along the city’s five miles of beachfront — only on weekends until June 19, and stressed that beachgoers should exercise caution.
“If you are coming to the beach during the week, you can come to catch a good tan,” he said. “But do not swim in the water when lifeguards are not on duty.”
