This year, I used communication and critical thinking as a core competency for my job as a lifeguard. I have work at the YMCA as a lifeguard, swim instructor and shift lead and work around 15 hours per week. My prominent role as a shift lead means I am communicating and leading my coworkers to make sure we are maintaining a safe swim environment. One day, during the 6 o’clock adult swim lessons, the fire alarm went off. Although I have worked at the pool for a year, I had never dealt with an emergency like this. I didn’t know where the fire was but I knew it wasn’t anywhere close to the pool deck. Thinking fast, I was able to use critical thinking to remove everybody from the pool and have them stand by the windows. My coworkers also didn’t know what to do for a fire, so they turned to me as their shift lead. I made sure to communicate with my coworkers and told them to focus on the patrons on the pool deck. When they were making sure the patrons were safely near the exit until further notice, me and another coworker were checking the change rooms making sure everybody was evacuating the building. After getting instructions to evacuate everybody outside, I made sure to safely grab towels for the cold patrons. Many people were taking long to change and not caring about the fire alarm going off. I made sure to communicate with them to tell them they must get out now for their safety. After 10 minutes of trying to get patrons out of the change room, the alarm turned off and my duty manager said it was a false alarm. Everybody ended up changing if not already done or leaving to go home. Although I didn’t know it was a false alarm, it was important to communicate with my coworkers, patrons and other for their safety. I made sure to patiently rush people out of the change room even if they thought blow drying their hair was more important. I learned many core competencies during this event.