Ray Jadala, fire chief of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, presented the department’s 2024 service delivery report to the Sunny Isles Beach City Commission, saying Miami‑Dade responded to more than 280,000 calls countywide and “just over 4,000 of those calls originated in Sunny Isles Beach.”
The report, Jadala said, documents the department’s resources and outreach in Sunny Isles Beach, including one fire station assigned to the city and 11 stations within four miles. “The response time for fires and life threatening emergency incidents here averages at 7 minutes and 14 seconds or less,” Jadala told commissioners.
The nut of the presentation was public safety and capacity: Miami‑Dade Fire Rescue described 72 county firehouses, roughly 167 frontline apparatuses and more than 3,000 employees countywide, and noted two residential developments under construction that “are gonna bring in over 600 new residential units.” The department also reported 592 business inspections in Sunny Isles Beach in 2024, participation in eight local community events that reached about 2,700 residents, and nine health‑and‑safety training sessions such as CPR and stop‑the‑bleed.
Commissioners asked about coordination with Hatzalah, a volunteer Jewish ambulance service that has operated in the area. Jadala said Miami‑Dade has worked with Hatzalah for about 10 years and that the agencies have written procedures to avoid conflict when both arrive on a scene. “If both units arrive on the scene, and the patient is unconscious by default by rescue in the state of Florida is required to begin assessment and care,” Jadala said, adding that state law makes fire‑rescue agencies the lead agency for transport in certain cases. He said the agencies meet regularly to coordinate dispatch and patient care and that Hatzalah is working on computer‑aided dispatch compatibility so calls can be coordinated.
Commissioners also sought explanation for large apparatus responses to high‑rise incidents. Jadala cited national standards from the National Fire Protection Association that classify structures by hazard and require a specific number of resources for high‑hazard buildings such as high‑rises, hospitals or nursing homes. He said that for a reported structure fire in a high‑rise Sunny Isles Beach would typically receive many apparatuses and command personnel “because if the incident turns out to be legit, those resources need to be put in place sooner rather than later.”
The presentation included resident satisfaction metrics: Jadala said the department received eight returned surveys from Sunny Isles residents in 2024 and that those responses averaged a 5‑out‑of‑5 satisfaction score. He closed by opening the floor for commissioner questions and saying the department would continue coordination with local partners.
The session included questions but no formal commission actions or votes related to the report. Commissioners thanked Jadala and personnel for their work and asked staff to continue coordinating with volunteer ambulance services and to track coordination data if feasible.