Miami-Dade Fire Rescue 's Marine Operations vessels were designed to meet the needs of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Marine Waterway Response Plan. Components of the plan include serving over 2 million residents, 84 miles of oceanside coastline, 22 miles of beaches, 67 miles of inland waterways, and 5.5 miles of the Miami River commercial waterway. The Port of Miami is the world's busiest passenger port, moving over 4 million passengers as well as 9 million tons of cargo and over 1 million containers each year. The Miami River Port handles over 4 billion dollars in cargo using 32 private terminals.
Miami-Dade County is also home to more than 50 public and private marinas, more than 7 public boat ramps and thousands of private docks. In addition to recent maritime incidents such as plane crashes in Government Cut and Maule Lake, the SS Norway explosion at the Port of Miami, the MV Ecstasy fire, multiple boat crashes, and river ship and yacht fires, the County experiences countless other waterway fire or EMS-related incidents on a daily basis. Events such as Lobster Mini-Season, Columbus Day Regatta, Miami Boat Show, and Offshore Racing Championships draw thousands of people into areas that are only accessible by boat or helicopter.
Fireboat 1, a 50' MetalCraft, has enough radios to act as a floating command post able to communicate with any local, state, or federal agency. And Fireboat 2, a 36' MetalCraft, is the most recent addition to the fleet. Other vessels in the fleet include 2-28' ridged hull boats, 1-24' ridged hull boat, 7 RHIBs, 1 Airboat and 10 Jonboats for diversified response.
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