They’re the people who run toward danger when others run away — but Guam’s lifeguards and park police are running on empty. With just four lifeguards left, and critical patrol shortages across public beaches, the question isn’t if something will go wrong — it’s when. And after two near drownings over the weekend, pressure is mounting on the administration to act — before tragedy strikes.

Guam’s beaches may be postcard-perfect — but beneath the waves and beyond the shoreline, a quiet crisis is unfolding. With only four active lifeguards left for the entire island, the Department of Parks and Recreation says it’s running out of time — and manpower — to keep people safe.

DPR director Angel Sablan said, "This shortage it's been happening for a while. Everytime we pick somebody up, four months later they get recruited like somewhere in the military bases their lifeguards people get $5 more than our starting position."

Once staffed with 11 trained lifeguards, DPR is now down to just four — stretched between Tumon’s busy Ypao and Matapang beaches, and the Dededo Pool. And it’s not just lifeguards.

Sablan explained, "That makes it very very difficult."

Park Police — the officers tasked with keeping Guam’s public parks safe — are also dangerously understaffed. Together, lifeguards and park police form the island’s front line of defense when trouble strikes. Over the weekend, that front line was tested — twice. A 3-year-old and a 1-year-old were both pulled from the waters of Matapang Beach after near drownings.

"If there are no lifeguards we simply put up a sign that there is no lifeguard on duty and that you swim at your risk," he said.

That’s the current safety strategy: warning signs. DPR says they’ve reached out to the Guam Visitors Bureau to help cover popular beaches, but without new hires — and soon — it’s a band-aid on a bigger problem.

"We've been in talks with the front office, and they are being supportive...they've been asking us to see whether or not we can find some funding.in our own budget," said Sablan.

But critics say that’s not enough — not when lives are on the line.  The department has ready applicants waiting at the Department of Administration — all they need is the green light to open the positions.

"We have applicants at DOA, we just need to open the positions because we need to fill six positions," he said.

The question now: will the administration act — or will more families be left to fend for themselves in the face of growing danger? "We're still going to work on trying to see if we can increase the basic entry salary of lifeguards, so we dont continue to lose them to other entities but that is a work in progress," he said.

For DPR, time is up. The warning signs are already posted — and the next emergency may not end as a near miss.