Mike Bartlett stars in Ocean Force!

"Episode 3: Huntington Beach, OC" – NEW!Premieres Mon, Jan 7 at 8:00P
Lifeguards responding to a nasty injury find that the victim is one of their own, while down the beach a tipsy couple faces off with lifeguards. Then when a swimmer disappears under water, the entire lifeguard team mobilizes for one massive search. TV-14

http://www.trutv.com/shows/ocean_force/meet_the_team.html

Q: What has been your most terrifying moment as a lifeguard?A: On March 3, 2005, four swimmers were pulled offshore in a large rip current. It was around 3:30pm and I was the only unit on patrol when I spotted the group. I immediately radioed for urgent back-up and swam out to them. I could hear their screams for help and feared that I might soon be fighting for my own life, since there were no other guards close enough to help and no surfers close enough to assist. These were four male teens fighting for their lives to stay afloat. I directed the first victim, who had some swimming ability, out of the rip current to safety and focused my efforts on the other three, who were non-swimmers and much farther out. Victim number two was in full panic mode. I calmed him down and pulled him to the third swimmer, who was motionless with his nose barely out of the water. I then proceeded to swim the group together out toward the fourth victim, who was also motionless and had disappeared under the surface. I swam to the spot where I last saw him, looked down, and pulled him up by his fingers. He was still alive but barely breathing. I held two of the weakest victims above water while the third victim used my buoy like a surfboard to stay afloat. I remember hearing the sirens coming from lifeguard back-up units. I basically floated two guys by eggbeater kicking and waiting for help to arrive. We eventually got everyone safely to shore. They all had full recoveries. The experience really opened my eyes to how dangerous the job is and how quickly one team member can go from rescuer to victim without trained back-up.
Q: Describe the first time you saved a life.A: My first rescue was my first day on the job at Tower 12. I noticed a girl was getting pulled out in a rip current. There were a number of people around but it was quiet. No splashing, no screaming, almost as though no one noticed but me. So I stood up, grabbed my fins. My phone rang. It was the tower guard next to me. He said, "Yes, that is a rescue and you probably should go!" I responded and swam her back to shore. She was very thankful that I saved her life but I felt embarrassed; I should have responded earlier.
Q: What is the biggest fear you have about what could happen on the job?A: It is my understanding that the San Diego Lifeguard Service was formed after 17 swimmers drowned on a single day in the 1930s. Huntington Beach has more than 10 million beach visitors per year and the beach gets busier every year. Over the decades, it seems the lifeguard profession has been very slow to adapt to the changing conditions and standardizing the profession. It would be very heartbreaking to see a tragedy like a multiple victim drowning occur at any beach in which you know should have been prevented.
Q: What are the most satisfying moments on this job?A: It's the mother who losses her child on the beach. They almost always fear the child was abducted but I don't think it has ever happened at Huntington Beach. Sometimes it takes five minutes to reunite the lost child with the mother and other times it takes five hours. The reunion between a mother and her child can bring tears to your eyes.
Q: What is the strangest thing you've seen on this job?A: One thing that always strikes me as strange is what we hear. Usually kids will say this but sometimes adult tourist will ask me, "What island is that out there? Is that part of Hawaii?" You just have to bite your tongue!