Working outside on triple-digit days doesn’t bother Hope Fink.

All she has to do is tell her partner on the other side of the pool that she’s getting too warm, slips off of her stand, and drops into the cool water below.

Such is the life when you’re a lifeguard with the Manteca Parks and Recreation Department and your office is the Lincoln Pool.

“There aren’t a lot of jobs where you can just jump into a pool when you start to get hot,” Fink said. “I’d have to say that there are a lot of things that I enjoy doing, but that has to be one of the things that’s right up there.”

With the mercury already topping 100 degrees by 3 p.m. Tuesday, the six lifeguards at Lincoln Pool each had their own way to beat the heat while watching the water and the dozens of kids that were doing some cooling off of their own.

Annalicia Luis opted to put a chair into the shallow end of the kiddie pool where parents sat with their toddlers and smaller children.

Kimberly Baker, a three-year veteran of Manteca’s lifeguarding program, took a page out of Fink’s book with the occasional dip while she worked her way around the various posts that those on shift hit in a given day.

And while the heat might be oppressive, Baker said that spending time outdoors in the summer does have its privileges.

“What other jobs are there where you can get paid to get a tan?” she said with a laugh. “Sure you get some strange tan lines, but your arms, your legs and your face still get tan by the end of the summer. It’s a lot of fun and it’s something that we all enjoy.”

But the real fun for the lifeguards comes before and after the afternoon free swim hours that requires the most supervision.

While the morning swim lessons come before the heat of the day actually starts baking down on the pool deck, the 5 p.m. lessons give the lifeguards a prolonged opportunity to spend time in the water. It’s something that Fink says she is always looking forward to.

And with private lessons this year also on the docket, that only equates to more in-pool time.

“Last year I got to tutor an autistic boy, and by the end of the summer he was swimming by himself and that was such a thrill to see,” she said. “I get the chance to give him private lessons this year, and with all of the other kids that we get to teach how to swim – especially in the late afternoon when it’s the hottest – it’s really rewarding.”

Lincoln Pool is located at 245 South Powers Avenue. Open swim is  from Monday through Friday from 1 to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. The cost is $2 for seniors 62 and up as well as youth 4 to 17 years of age. Adults 18 to 61 years are $3 while children under 4 are free.

Swim Lessons are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon and from 5 to 8 p.m. For more information, call the Manteca Parks and Recreation Department at 456-8600.