VIDEO/PHOTOS: Pasco County Fire Rescue has a new member of its fleet, Fire Marine 1. “This is a 37-foot landing craft-style boat,” Division Chief of Special Operations Lee Hudson of Pasco County Fire Rescue said. “It’s powered with twin 300 motors. It has a 100-mile range. “Its sole mission out on the water is going to be EMS, search and rescue, fire suppression and some dewatering,” he said. The vessel cost about $380,000, funded through county resources. It has cutting-edge firefighting and medical rescue capabilities.
Pasco County leaders say itโs not only vital during hurricane season, but also during scallop season, when the water is packed with boaters of all abilities. “We even have more reason because there’s so many boats out there that may need help, and we want to be out there to serve our citizens,” Commissioner Jack Mariano of District 5 said. “It’s a great feeling knowing that we are serving the people to what we think they want, and to provide this in cooperation with the Coast Guard is phenomenal,” he said. “With boaters out on water, recreational boaters, there’s always some type of issue where we may be needed, whether it’s a medical emergency or a lost or missing boater,” Hudson said. They ordered the boat about three years ago.
