Lifeguards as Peacekeepers : Recreation: Not everyone gets along swimmingly at local pools. The employees keep an eye out for trouble.

When it comes to defusing steaming tempers, Warren Mandigo’s personal policy is to keep cool.

As a pool lifeguard at El Cariso Regional Park in Sylmar, Mandigo’s job is part-time peacekeeper as well as lifesaver--a fact made clear by the recent beating of a lifeguard in Watts.

“There are always problems that come up with patrons,” said Mandigo, echoing the sentiments of other San Fernando Valley lifeguards who know that they are not immune to similar violence.

The problems drowning the rest of society sometimes spill over into recreation areas intended as carefree spots to escape the heat. And lifeguards are left to rely on their wits to stay safe, since they are, literally, almost naked to defend themselves.

Mandigo has heard stories of lifeguards being asked to hold guns while hooligans take a dip. A lifeguard friend once had to be escorted to her car by police because of threats from angry swimmers after she told them to behave.

“It’s kind of upsetting that people would do stuff like that,” said Mandigo, who has told many “irate patrons” to play by the rules or pack it up.

On Monday, several lifeguards at the Will Rogers Park pool in Watts were injured in a melee that erupted after a lifeguard tried to restrain a swimmer who was roughhousing. Some of the swimmer’s buddies hopped the fence, and a brawl broke out.

Tom Jones, manager of the public pool at Van Nuys-Sherman Oaks Park in Sherman Oaks, said similar incidents are more common than most people think, even if they involve only yelling and threats rather than physical violence.

In 1972, Jones recalled, a young lifeguard with whom he was working was shot and killed after the victim told a rowdy swimmer to behave.

“We deal with maladjusted behavior all the time,” Jones said, adding that lifeguards should never let themselves get drawn into a confrontation with a swimmer. Those disputes are better handled by park rangers or police, he said.

Even so, local pools usually make for a safe outing. For the most part, Jones said, public pools are still places where large numbers of people enjoy themselves without problems.

As many as 500 people a day can crowd the Sherman Oaks pool on a hot weekend. For senior lifeguards like Jones, the art of handling that many people has been honed over several decades.

But for rookie lifeguards, commanding respect from rowdy swimmers is sometimes more difficult. Heather Chowaniec said she sometimes sees rough-looking characters hanging around and occasionally has to tell them or their friends in the pool to behave.

“Especially since I’m a girl, they never listen to me,” Chowaniec said. “But that’s why we have the manager and the guy lifeguards. The only time I feel unsafe is when I’m leaving.”

Tall and muscular with a shaved head, lifeguard Ed Akopyan said he almost never worries about his safety while on duty. “I have the haircut,” he said. “It scares them away.”