Our KNX Hero of the Week, John Lopez, and his incredible staff at Richard Alatorre Pool in El Sereno, helped save a person's life!
Lopez serves as the Aquatic Facility Manager II with the city of Los Angeles and is currently stationed at the Richard Alatorre Pool in El Sereno. He was outside the facility's entrance when he heard a gunshot being fired in a nearby park. Moments later, he saw a young man stumbling into the lobby of the pool asking for help.
Lopez jumped into action and started tending the injuries. His team immediately started to assist him as well.
“Unfortunately, I've seen situations like this before, but this one literally came home,” he told Heroes host Heather Jordan. “My assistant manager, she was on the phone calling 911. We activated the emergency action plan, where we had to evacuate the pool and secure our patrons that were already in the swimming pool, and the whole staff has a protocol that we trained for. We were able to secure everybody, make sure everybody was safe as we were rendering aid to the person. My lifeguards did an outstanding job. They came by my side. They helped me out. They were handing me equipment. They were handing me gauzes, and we were able to control the bleeding until the police department showed up.”
Not only did the victim survive, but he also contacted Lopez and his team to thank them for saving his life.
Lopez has had his job for more than 40 years and said he truly loves it.
“I love the people I work with, everyone from supervision all the way down to the locker attendant that worked for me here, where I started in that position,” he said. “I tell him that all the time. I said, ‘No job is minute, you know? Everybody has an important part. Everybody partakes in a positive way where they're actually vested in the facility and really have a good time, and everybody seems to get along, and it's more like family.”
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