Does your community have a body of water in it? Do you have any marine assets? Marine response in the fire service varies greatly. From a small hand-carried inflatable boat to FDNY’s “Three Forty Three: a 140 foot fast response boat.

The roles the Fire Service plays in marine response are equally as varied. They include fire suppression, water supply, search and rescue, dive operations, HAZMAT, multi-agency response, and more.

This week we talked with #SavannahFire Department Captain, Steve “Soko” Sokolowski about the Fire services role in marine ops. Captain Soko is a veteran of the U.A. Army. He has been in the fire service for 11 years. Several of them were spent on the heavy rescue. He now serves as Captain on SFD’s engine 3 in the historic section of Savannah, Ga. In 2015, Soko was one of 6 volunteers who stepped up to start the marine program for the department. Only 7 years later, SFD’s program is robust and active. They currently run a fleet consisting of a 50 Ft @Metalcraft dual jet Fire boat that can pump 8k gals per min, a 29ft aluminum hull twin outboard utility boat, 2x 17ft single outboard Carolina skiffs and 3 inflatable 10ft single tiller outboards. In addition to running the marine program, Captain Soko is an active instructor with @NASBLA teaching multiple courses for them throughout the country.

In todays episode we talk with Capt. Soko about his experience helping to build that marine program. We talk about all the ways the Fire service is or can be involved in marine operations. We also talk about some principles of marine operations that are applicable to departments of any size when responding to a marine emergency.

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