Los Angeles County lifeguard Brian Keith Kutil, 42, died of sudden cardiac death while completing a routine swim test on Jan. 15, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office.
The cause was a genetic heart problem called congenital hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The condition often presents no symptoms and can go undetected.
Fellow lifeguards helped pull Kutil, an El Segundo native, out of the Mira Costa High School pool when they saw him struggling. Paramedics attended to him to immediately. He was transported to Providence Little Company of Mary Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Kutil’s death shook the close-knit lifeguarding community. He was the first lifeguard to die in the line of duty, other than a couple of others who died from causes related to cancer, according to LA County Fire Department Lifeguard Section Chief Chris Linkletter.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department held a memorial at Dockweiler Beach, where Kutil worked for a time, in January.
A few hundred mourners gathered on the beach to hear Kutil’s colleagues and family speak.
“Brian was an integral part of saving lives in LA county,” said Fire Chief Daryl Osby. “Thousands of people who are not here today can thank Brian for his service.”
Kutil was born on Nov. 17, 1972 in El Segundo, where he grew up. He attended St. Anthony Catholic School and then went to El Segundo High School, where he played water polo and swam. After graduating in 1991, he went to El Camino College, where he joined the swim team.
He began working as an ocean lifeguard with the Los Angeles County Fire Department in 1994. In 2001, he was promoted to full-time ocean lifeguard specialist and worked for many years at Dockweiler State Beach. Later, he found his calling as a deckhand on the rescue boats.
Kutil’s swim coach at El Camino described Kutil as a hard worker with a passion for the ocean.
“He got to do something he loved,” said Corey Stanbury. “If we could all do that, it would be awesome. It’s pretty much a tragedy that he passed away at such a young age.” ER
