AC Lifeguards Kyle Deroo and Taylor Dirkes
An energetic Margate firefighter who works a second full-time job as a lieutenant on the Atlantic City Beach Patrol touted teamwork in saving the life of a Pennsylvania first responder.
Kyle Deroo, 27, of Chelsea Heights, was working his second job over the weekend on the beach in Atlantic City when he was called to assist a man in trouble on the beach.
Deroo was part of a two-man EMT team with Lt. Mark Giannini to respond to the beach at Vermont Avenue for a man in distress around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, Atlantic City Beach Patrol Chief Steve Downey said. Lead lifeguard Kevin Wallace was first on the scene, before calling for EMT support from a few streets away.
According to Deroo, the man, whose name was withheld, was waist deep in the water when his wife noticed he was having difficulty. She managed to get him from the water, and he was lying on his side on the wet sand.
“The guards there said it was likely a cardiac event,” Deroo said.
He and his partner arrived within minutes and dried the semi-conscious man’s chest before starting chest compressions.
“I felt him stop breathing and checked for a pulse, but there was none,” Deroo said.
In addition to doing CPR, they employed the use of an AED (automatic external defibrillator) and with one shock, the man started to regain consciousness, Deroo said.
The man, who recovered fully, felt compelled to notify the chief of his lifeguards’ heroic efforts during “the BIGGEST CRISIS of my life,” the man wrote in an email.
“I regained consciousness to one lifeguard doing chest compressions on me and implementing the AED,” he wrote. “That’s when I realized I was in big trouble. This wasn’t just a fainting spell. By this point, I was surrounded by what felt like a swarm of first responders. It was scary as hell but comforting to know I was in good hands throughout this incident.”
Kyle Deroo is also a Margate firefighter.Lifeguards learned that the man they saved has 30 years of law enforcement experience and is a volunteer firefighter and EMT.
“They gave me a fighting chance to survive, and survive I did! They should be VERY proud of their actions,” the man wrote in his email.
Deroo said the swarm of lifeguards the man referred to were actually junior guards who had just completed a mandated advanced first aid course. As senior officers on the Beach Patrol, Deroo and Giannini are the two main teachers of the course.
“The younger guards were ready to assist us and were helping to deliver all the different equipment we needed to the scene,” Deroo said. “They did exactly what we were training them to do.”
Deroo, who has been on the Atlantic City Beach Patrol for 13 years, said he and his partner, who is also a firefighter/EMT in Pleasantville, have been involved in other CPR rescues.
Downey said he was not surprised Giannini and Deroo were the lifesavers, as they have been on many of the “overwhelming amount” of health-related calls on the beach this summer.
“We were involved in a CPR rescue several years ago on the MLK rocks and there was another CPR rescue earlier this year,” he said. “And we’re very busy at the (Margate) Fire Department.”
“We’ve had a ton of medical calls in the last couple of weeks, and those two have been involved in most of them,” the chief said. “They’ve just been doing a phenomenal job all year.”
Deroo said he took CPR training on his own about six years ago to boost his resume in preparation for applying for the Margate firefighter/EMT position, which he obtained three years ago. He works 24-hour shifts in Margate and works the Atlantic City beach on his three days off each week during summer, he said. In his spare time, he teaches Jiu Jitsu.
Kyle Deroo teaches Jiu JitsuMargate Fire Chief Dan Adams said Deroo, a member of Platoon 3, is an outstanding employee, whose service is “second to none.”
“He has been involved in numerous emergency situations, including a high number of CPR calls, and was involved in saving a life back in November 2024,” Adams said.
Deroo said he felt good learning the man he helped save was a first responder as well.
"As of today, August 12, 2025, I have lived three more days of my life, all thanks to your guards," the man wrote. "I am expected to make a full recovery, but may have to have a device implanted to prevent this from happening again."
Knowing the result of his team's effort is rewarding, Deroo said.
“Most times, you take people to the hospital and don’t know how things end, and you don’t hear what happens to these patients. I think it was cool that he emailed the chief to thank us for something we do every day on the job,” Deroo said.
