>
Eh, hiring incompetent people is something philly has always excelled at. 
-a philadelphian >

Yeah we definitely go above and beyond in that department. >

"You there, stop drowning!" >

"Here, I'm throwing you a cheese steak so you can use it to float!" >

It’s the middle of winter. >

The city does have these things called indoor pools. They also do recruiting/hiring in the off season to fill positions in order to be ready for the summer. >

Just saying if they’re going to have issues now when most of the swimming places are not in operation, I hate to think what it’s going to be like in the summer. >

To save anyone a click -- people who can't currently swim  are allowed to apply.  The city will then offer free lessons and instruction, and the people will still need to test into the lifeguard program.
Now, I have NO IDEA if it's reasonably possible to teach a non-swimmer how to swim well enough in 4 months that they can be a lifeguard.  My guess would be no, but I don't know.