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Marine Division |
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Four of the municipalities that are served by North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue have frontage on the Hudson river on their eastern borders. This waterfront, directly across from Manhattan, has seen an explosion of development in recent years. Condominiums, restaurants, office complexes and parks have taken the place of dormant wharfs. This development has lead to an increased use of the Hudson river for recreational purposes. It has also lead to a marked increase in commuter ferry traffic on the river. With the United States Coast Guard leaving its base at Governors Island, water-rescue time increased to a level that was unacceptable to the regional department. NHRFR’s management responded by developing a Marine Division to assist other agencies in keeping the residents and visitors to the waterfront safer by providing a more timely response to waterfront emergencies. A Battalion Chief was assigned to head the new division. NHRFR has placed in service a 26 foot Shamrock fire/rescue boat that is stationed at the Lincoln Harbor Marina in Weehawken. The boat is equipped with a 550 gallon per minute (GPM) Hale fire pump, radar and GPS depth-finder. The vessel is powered by a 5.7 liter V8 fuel-injected Ford marine engine. Also onboard are a thermal imaging camera (to assist with locating people in the water) and other marine rescue gear and first aid items. At this time, it is the only boat of its kind in this area of New Jersey. The boat has been made available by request to any Hudson or Bergen County municipality, and the city of New York, for mutual aid purposes. The fire/rescue boat is manned by the members of Engine Three with a back up crew consisting of Squad 1 personnel. All marine personnel have completed the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Boating Safety Course. In addition, members are being trained in boat handling and surface water rescue by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) station, located on Staten Island. Firefighters will also receive specialized training from other agencies, such as the American Red Cross (water survivor and self rescue courses). Since being placed in service the Regional's fire/rescue boat has answered numerous distress calls from vessels navigating the waters of the Hudson. These calls include but are not limited to: persons in the water, capsized vessels, boating accidents, emergency first aid, waterfront fires, obstructions to navigation and unidentified floating objects. The Marine Division has also assisted other agencies with operations protecting the general public. The variety and number of responses justify the decision to have a well trained and reliable fire/rescue boat as an integral part of the many other services provided by NHRFR. Other duties of the Marine Division include preplanning for waterfront emergencies and training with the ferry services for vessel fire/emergency rescues. As the old saying goes, "practice makes perfect". The Marine Division is dedicated to providing the best level of emergency protection possible. Regular training goes a long way towards achieving this goal. |
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NORTH HUDSON REGIONAL FIRE & RESCUE |