Home > Fire Rescue > About Us > Marine Services

Marine Services

The Marine Services Bureau (MSB) oversees the day to day operations, logistical functions, research and development and in-house training related to the following programs:

  • Fireboat Operations
  • Rapid Response Vessels
  • Hovercraft
  • Personal Water Craft
  • Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats
  • Airboat Operations
  • Swift Water/Flood Water Response
  • Oversight of the Ocean Rescue Bureau

The Ocean Rescue Bureau is composed of over 90 lifeguards who serve and protect the beaches of Miami-Dade County at Crandon Park Beach and Haulover Beach, as well as assisting in surrounding beaches that are not staffed with full-time lifeguards when requested.

The Marine Services Bureau oversees the two operational fireboats that are staffed 24/7 and ready to respond within seconds. These two vessels protect and patrol the waterways of Miami-Dade County while responding to any incident/accident within our jurisdiction, or when requested by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and/or our State/County maritime law enforcement partners.

MDFR’s Fireboat Program will soon be augmented by three additional strategically placed Rapid Rescue Vessels (RRV) along the coastline of Miami-Dade County and three airboat’s, for improved response capabilities in the Florida Everglades.

The waterways within MDFR’s service area include beaches, shoreline, Atlantic Ocean, Biscayne Bay, Port Miami, Miami-River Port, Fisher Island/Trans-Mountain Fuel Farm, Intercostal Waterway (ICW), Florida Everglades, and a multitude of inland lakes, bays, and canals.

The Marine Services Bureau has an extensive Hazardous Materials Maritime Response Plan in place to respond and protect against any waterborne emergency that might threaten our sensitive ecological marine environment and the coral reef in Biscayne Bay and theAtlantic Ocean.