Newport lifeguard headquarters may be named for Ben Carlson

The Newport Beach City Council next week is expected to consider naming the city’s lifeguard headquarters after Ben Carlson, who died while making an ocean rescue this summer.

Carlson was the city’s first lifeguard to die in the line of duty. In September, the city started looking for appropriate ways to honor him.

Staff consulted lifeguards and Carlson’s family before recommending that the council rename the headquarters at the Newport Pier, Mayor Rush Hill said.

Hill said he expects the idea will pass easily at the council meeting Wednesday.

“I don’t anticipate any problem with it, quite frankly,” he said.

Carlson, a 15-year lifeguard, became a local hero after his death July 6, when he dove into rough surf to help a struggling swimmer.

A local group called the Ben Carlson Memorial and Scholarship Foundation has been working on a plan for a statue of Carlson at the base of the Balboa Pier, near the Newport Beach Junior Lifeguard headquarters.

— Jeremiah Dobruck

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck