HAMPTON, N.H. (AP) – State officials are considering changing lifeguard schedules and posting warning signs at Hampton Beach, following the deaths of two Massachusetts men on July 4, shortly after lifeguards went off duty for the day.

The deaths of Carlos Reyes, 35, of Marlboro, Mass., and Alex Tapia, 26, of Worcester, Mass., last Monday were Hampton Beach’s first fatalities in more than 30 years, state officials said. Reyes had ventured into the water around 6 p.m. to retrieve his stepson, who had been swept away by a strong current. Others followed, and soon a dozen people were stuck in the dangerous water. Rescuers saved 10 people, but Reyes and Tapia were pulled unconscious from the water and pronounced dead.

Questions about why lifeguards were not assigned to extra duty during one of the busiest beach days of the year – particularly when they had been warning swimmers all day to stay away from areas with dangerously strong rip currents – and why signs weren’t posted to indicate dangerous water when lifeguards went off duty at 5:45 p.m., persisted in days following the deaths.

On Thursday, state parks director Allison McLean said she was considering both options.

“I think definitely that we’ll be making those decisions in the very near future,” she said.

State park managers have the authority to assign overtime or change schedules if conditions warrant. McLean said lifeguards tested the water before leaving on Monday and decided extra duty wasn’t needed because conditions had improved. Markers aren’t useful because conditions change too quickly, she said.

There currently are no signs warning swimmers about rip currents, a persistent condition at Hampton Beach.

Sean O’Kane, head of the Department of Resources and Economic Development, which oversees state parks, said signs are a help, not a solution.

“Simply to say putting signs up is going to eradicate any potential problem is really a fallacy, because conditions can change rapidly,” he said. “We don’t want to come in with a quick fix just to make it look good – we want to do something that has substance.”

Rip current rescues accounted for more than 40 percent of nearly 50,000 reported lifeguard rescues last year, according to the United States Lifesaving Association. Of 78 reported drownings that occurred during unguarded situations, 28 involved rip currents. Of 10 reported drownings where a lifeguard was present, one was because of a rip current, according too association statistics.

O’Kane said beach patrons, not lifeguards, ultimately are responsible for their own safety.

“Lifeguards are here to try to provide advice, to provide guidance, but they’re not baby sitters. They cannot guarantee safety,” he said. “The public does have a responsibly to manage their own affairs. It’s frightening to me to hear parents say, Well the lifeguard will watch my children.’ Well that’s simply not why they’re there. Parents have that responsibility and individuals have responsibility.”

There was no one swimming at Hampton Beach on Thursday morning, where the water was choppy under windy, overcast skies. Eileen Loud of Westhampton, Mass., said she wasn’t letting her sons in the water.

“It’s just too wild and crazy out there,” she said. Loud said she never thought about rip currents at Hampton Beach until the recent deaths. “We’ve been coming here for years and I never thought about it,” she said.