Saving lives ... another day at the "office" for Luke Saurogo. Picture: Ernest Heatley

The afternoon of April 25 was busy at the Suva Olympic Pool as it was a typical Saturday drawing more than its usual share of water lovers. "On that day there were more than 400 kids all over the place. Saturdays are always very full," recalled lifeguard Luke Saurogo. Things would go wrong at about 2.50pm when Saurogo noticed a little school girl struggling to keep afloat. The lightning fast reaction from this native of Qarani Village in G

au, saved the life of the girl, identified as Porina, a student of Arya Samaj Primary School. "I noticed that she was floating head-down in the water and her feet were not touching the ground," he said. "I managed to lift her out of the water and luckily she was still breathing and all right. Just a little longer and she could have drowned." There would be little chance to rest for the lifeguard as his skills would be called on once again, in less than two hours, this time, to save three others. At around 4pm a father who was crossing from one end to the other with two daughters clinging to him, developed cramps. "The father struggling with his two daughters who both didn't know how to swim and on his way to the other side he bumped into another lady," recalled the 38-year-old lifeguard. "The two girls started grabbing hold of the lady in the water and suddenly all four people were struggling and going down."

After a cry for the lifeguard was raised by the woman, Saurogo rushed to their aid and managed to pull the girls and the woman to safety. In less than three hours, Saurogo had managed to save four people from possible drowning deaths. The lifeguard is one of four such professionals based at the pool. The incident that occurred on April 25 underlines the importance of trained safety personnel being on hand at swimming facilities, particularly as children are naturally drawn to such activities. Saurogo said from experience, he saw many parents often left their children to swim by themselves and not watch over them as they should. "This is why I cannot take my eyes off from the pool, particularly on Saturdays," said the father of four. Saurogo is a trained professional lifeguard who has been at the Olympic in the past 11 months. Prior to that, he worked in a similar role at Wellesley Resort and before that, as a safety instructor at the Westin Denarau Island Resort and Spa. The sole breadwinner in his family, Saurogo takes his job seriously racking up 1km of freestyle training laps per day to keep in shape. Safety in the water, particularly for children is his paramount concern right now. When mishaps occur in the water, Saurogo doesn't waste time, he just does what he does best although he feels people can start being proactive to avoid calamities. "It's good to see schools including more swimming classes into the curriculum but it's important for children, wherever they are, that they inform anybody when they go swimming and always be accompanied by someone responsible when in the water."

Well Done, Luke.