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Fort Lauderdale marine leaders report busy April and warn of staffing, equipment limits
Summary
Fire-rescue and police marine leaders told the Marine Advisory Board that April rescue activity was high, fireboats are not permanently staffed and both departments rely on grants and county resources to maintain coverage.
At a Fort Lauderdale Marine Advisory Board meeting, fire-rescue and police marine leaders described a busy April for marine responses and detailed limits in staffing and equipment that affect response capacity.
The update matters because the city’s marine and shore-based emergency services respond to water rescues, vehicle-into-water incidents and boating accidents that can be life-or-death and because officials said current staffing and asset-placement decisions constrain response options.
Captain Chad Robertson, Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue, told the board that “on the month of April, we ran 7 fire boat calls,” and described incidents including an April 19 call in which “3 were rescued, 1 was missing” and an April 28 vehicle-into-water at Police Landing where a rapid diver located and…
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