LOS ANGELES – There is no shortage of heroes within the Los Angeles County Fire Department, including its lifeguard division where one lifeguard was recently awarded a medal of valor for a life-saving rescue.

On a recent calm day in Manhattan Beach, lifeguard Nick Macko scanned the ocean, ready to jump into action knowing how quickly things can turn deadly. After 20 years with the L.A. County Fire Dept, it was an incident last summer that drove this point home for him. A young man’s first time visit to the Palos Verdes caves could have easily been his last.

“First time and all he did was jump of this ledge he saw on social media and that’s when the first set just carried him right in there,” said Macko.

In August of 2019 at 7:58 p.m., two minutes before he was scheduled to go off duty, Macko was alerted to a 911 call. 

“We believe there were fishermen nearby that saw the people waving that someone was in distress,” said Macko. 

Within seconds he had his gear on and was ready for the rescue, but with multiple caves and coves around the peninsula, knowing the exact location was Macko’s first challenge. But the 911 caller’s description of someone stuck in a cave, running out of air, gave Macko a clue.

“The third gorge. That’s the one that I just took the leap of faith because I know the opening to that cave goes in about 50 yards and there’s another tunnel back there. I think if someone gets in there, that’s where they could run out of air,” said Macko. 

His instincts about the man’s location were correct. As he jumped in the water with a life preserver, he told the rest of the crew not to come in after him since he was the only one trained for this type of rescue. As daylight ran out and the tide kept rising, the team waited outside the cave.

Macko said when he entered the cave water slammed and swirled around inside like a washing machine, and the victim was bloody and clinging to the rocks.

His reaction when he saw Macko?

“Disbelief that there was only one person to come rescue him,” said Macko. “He did look at me and said where is everyone? I looked at him and said ‘I’m it, buddy.’ He told me he’s not going and there’s no way he’s getting back in that water, because that water to him was him dying. It took a lot of convincing to get him prepped to jump back in with me and trust me to swim him out.”

At that point Macko began swimming as hard as he could, knowing that time was running out. But fighting against the swells and current proved challenging. There were moments he said he was swimming as hard as he could, and not making any ground. It was with the help of the receding surf that they finally got out. And just as they were able to climb out of the water, Macko saw that they avoided a disaster by mere seconds. 

“We seriously stood up on that last rock and I saw that next wave just come crushing across that would have thrown us right back into the cave,” said Macko.

For his bravery, Macko was recently presented with the 2020 Medal of Valor by the International Surf Festival – an honor that he refuses to take full credit for. He says that without his captain and his crew, and all the training he received he would not have been able to do it.

As the ordeal came to an end, they were airlifted off the rocks. Macko said the patient was emotional and full of gratitude, knowing that things could have ended very differently.