Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department

The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department (MDFR) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the unincorporated parts of Miami-Dade County, Florida along with 30 municipalities located within the county.[2] In all the department is responsible for 1,883 square miles (4,880 km²) of land.

Not to be confused with Miami Fire-Rescue Department.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department

Department Motto "Always Ready, Proud To Serve"
Operational area
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Miami-Dade
Agency overview
Established	1935
Annual calls	283,572 (2017)
Employees	2700
Staffing	Career
Fire chief	Alan Cominsky
EMS level	ALS
IAFF	1403
Facilities and equipment[1]
Divisions	12
Battalions	14
Stations	71
Engines	40
Trucks	13
Platforms	8
Squads	1
Rescues	58
HAZMAT	6
USAR	1
Airport crash	6
Helicopters	4
Fireboats	2
Light and air	1
Website
Official website
IAFF website

Air Rescue[3]

The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR) Air Rescue Bureau provides regional air medical services, search and rescue, aerial firefighting and tactical support to MDFR operations, to those of local municipalities and government agencies at the state and federal level.

MDFR helicopters transport severely injured trauma patients to state approved Level I trauma centers. Flight crews are trained in additional tactical disciplines necessary to deploy personnel and equipment in search and rescue missions, firefighting operations and reconnaissance on large incidents such as wildland fires and catastrophic events.

Current Fleet

Air Rescue operates four Bell Helicopter 412s (BH 412 EPs). Each aircraft is equipped with the following:

• Patient loading systems normally configured allow the transport of two critical-care patients, with the option to reconfigure for up to six patients in Mass Casualty Incidents (MCIs).
• An external hoist for helicopter-borne rescues.
• An external high-power searchlight, "The Night Sun," is used for night operations.
• MCI Command and Control suitable radio suite.
• Night Vision Goggle compatible lighting.

During the dry season, each aircraft can be configured with a Bambi Bucket for firefighting / water-operations.

All four helicopters are housed at MDFR fire stations located at both Miami Executive Airport and Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport.[4]

Urban Search And Rescue (USAR)

Main article: Urban Search and Rescue Florida Task Force 1

MDFR FLTF-1

The Miami-Dade Fire Department is the founding member of one of Florida's two FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force.[5] Florida Task Force 1 (FL-TF1) is available to respond to natural or man-made disasters around the county and world and assist with search and rescue, medical support, damage assessment and communications.[6]

History[7]

In the early 1980s two fire departments, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (at that time known as Metro-Dade Fire Rescue) and the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department, operated under an agreement with the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) of the U.S. State Department to provide international search and rescue assistance in times of disaster. During these early years, assistance was provided to the countries of Mexico, Philippines and Soviet Armenia.

In 1991, FEMA incorporated a US&R team concept into a federal response plan. Over 20 teams were geographically chosen throughout the country, with local public safety departments as sponsoring agencies. Today, under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) there are 28 national task forces staffed and equipped to provide 24-hour search and rescue operations following earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and other natural or human-caused disasters.

Responses

• Earthquakes 1985 Mexico City 1986 El Salvador 1988 Armenia 1990 Philippines 1997 Venezuela 1999 Colombia 1999 Turkey 1999 Taiwan 2010 Haiti
• Hurricanes / Weather Disasters 1988 Gilbert, Jamaica 1989 Hugo, Eastern Caribbean 1992 Andrew, Miami 1995 Luis, Caribbean 1995 Marilyn, Caribbean 1995 Opal, North Florida 2000 Belize 2004 Charley, Charlotte County, Florida 2005 Katrina, New Orleans, Louisiana 2008 Gustav, Texas 2008 Ike, Miami-Dade County, Florida
• Flooding/Weather Disasters 2000 Mozambique
• Building Explosions 1995 Oklahoma City 1996 Columbo, Sri Lanka 1996 Puerto Rico 2001 Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 2001 World Trade Center, New York
• Airplane Crash 1995-96 Buga, Colombia 1996 ValuJet Crash, Florida
• Communications Support 1989 Romania 1991 Northern Iraq & Turkey 1994 Rwanda 1994 Haiti 1995 Montserrat 1995 Sierra Leone 1996 Bosnia 1998 Nairobi, Kenya
• Building Collapse 2007 Barbados, 2012 Doral, FL

Stations and Apparatus

MDFR Aerial 39

Platform Fire Truck

The MDFR has 71 stations split up in 14 battalions.[1]

Fire Station #	City	Engine Company	Aerial Company,Platform Company,TRT Ladder Company,HazMat Ladder Company or Aerial Company or Quint Company	EMS Rescue Unit	Other units
1	Miami Lakes	Engine 1		Rescue 1
2	Miami	Engine 2		Rescue 2 Rescue 202	Battalion 5
3	Miami	Engine 3		Rescue 3	*Red units for 9/11 tribute*
4	Miami	Engine 4		Rescue 4	Battalion 9
5	Redland	Engine 5		Rescue 5
6	Homestead	Engine 6		Rescue 6	EMS 6
7	West Little River	Engine 7		Rescue 7
8	Aventura	Engine 8		Rescue 8	Battalion 2
9	Kendall	Engine 9		Rescue 9
10	Sunny Isles Beach	Engine 10		Rescue 10
11	Miami Gardens	Engine 11		Rescue 11	Battalion 4
12	Miami International Airport	Engine 12		Rescue 12	Battalion 6, ARFF Foam 1, 2, & 3 Terminal EMS Cart
13	Miami		Ladder 13		Air Truck 13 South Maintenance Yard Coms/Ops support vehicles
14	South Miami	Engine 14		Rescue 14	Battalion 8
15	Key Biscayne			Rescue 15	RHIB 15
16	Homestead	Engine 16		Rescue 16 Rescue 72	Battalion 10
17	Virginia Gardens		HazMat Ladder 17		HazMat Support 17
18	North Miami-West			Rescue 18
19	North Miami		TRT Aerial 19	Rescue 19
20	North Miami	Engine 20		Rescue 20	Battalion 3
21	Miami		Platform 21	Rescue 21	Battalion 1 Fire Boat 21
22	North Miami		Platform 22
23	Pinecrest	Engine 23		Rescue 23	EMS 23
24	Miami Executive Airport				Foam 24 Air Rescue South
25	Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport				Foam 25 Air Rescue North
26	Opa-Locka		Platform 26	Rescue 26
27	North Bay Village	Engine 27		Rescue 27
28	Hialeah Gardens			HazMat Rescue 28
29	Sweetwater		Ladder 29	Rescue 29
30	Miami Shores	Engine 30		Rescue 30
31	North Miami Beach		Ladder 31	Rescue 31
32	North Miami Beach	Engine 32		Rescue 32
33	Aventura			Rescue 33	EMS 33
34	Cutler Ridge		Platform 34	Rescue 34	South Operations Division Chief Rehab Canteen
35	Miami Springs	Engine 35		Rescue 35
36	Hammocks		Ladder 36	Rescue 36
37	Miami	Engine 37		Rescue 37
38	Miami Gardens		Platform 38	Rescue 38
39	Port of Miami		Ladder 39	Rescue 39	1 RHIBs
40	West Miami	Engine 40		Rescue 40
41	Miami			Rescue 41
42	Fisher Island		Aerial 42	Rescue 42
43	Richmond Heights	TRT Engine 43		Rescue 43	EMS 43 RHIB
44	Palm Springs North	Engine 44		Rescue 44
45	Doral	Engine 45
46	Medley		TRT Ladder 46		Collapse Truck
47	Westchester	Engine 47		Rescue 47
48	Fontainebleau	Engine 48		Rescue 48	TRT Battalion 12 EMS 48 North Operations Division Chief
49	Pinecrest			Rescue 49
50	Perrine	Engine 50		Rescue 50
51	Miami Gardens	Engine 51		Rescue 51	EMS 51
52	South Miami Heights	Tanker 52		Rescue 52	Battalion 7
53	Miami		Platform 53	Rescue 53
54	Opa Locka / Bunche Park	Engine 54		Rescue 54
55	Saga Bay	Engine 55			RHIB 55
56	Miami	HazMat Engine 56		Rescue 56
57	West Kendall	Engine 57		Rescue 57	Battalion 13
58	Tamiami	Engine 58		Rescue 58
59	Miami International Airport		HazMat Platform 59		ARFF Foam 4, Quick Response Vehicle(QRV) 59, Airport Operations Division Chief
60	Redland	Tanker 60			Airboat 1
61	Miami	Engine 61
62	Palmetto Bay	Engine 62
63	Miami	HazMat Engine 63
64	Miami Lakes		Platform 64	Rescue 64	Battalion 14
65	Homestead	Engine 65		Rescue 65
66	Homestead		Ladder 66
67	Arcola				*In Construction*
68	Dolphin Mall				*In Construction*
69	Doral			Rescue 69	Squad 69 HazMat 69 “Heavy 1” (Rotator) HazMat Battalion 11
70	Coconut Palm			Rescue 70	Battalion 7
72	TBD
73	Port of Miami				Fire Boat 73
76	Bay Harbor	Engine 76		Rescue 76
78	Eastern Shores			Rescue 78

References

1. "Stations & Units". MDFD. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
2. "Emergency Response". Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
3. Services, Miami-Dade County Online. "Air Rescue - Miami-Dade County". www.miamidade.gov. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
4. "Air Rescue". Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
5. "Task Force Locations". FEMA. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
6. "Urban Search and Rescue (USAR)". Miami-Dade Fire Department. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
7. Services, Miami-Dade County Online. "Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) - Miami-Dade County". www.miamidade.gov. Retrieved 2016-02-21.

External links