Los Cabos Deploys Fire Boat To Protect Tourists At Sea

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For most tourists to Los Cabos, a vacation involves some sort of connection to water. Whether that means lounging at a pool, sportfishing in the ocean, sunbathing at the beach, or even whale watching in a boat, there are many connections to water.

The Cabo San Lucas Fire Department is deploying a new strategy to make sure to keep tourists safe while aboard a boat out in the water.

The department has commissioned a brand-new fire boat available to extinguish boat fires and keep visitors safe.

The Fire Boat Partnership

The boat will be designed so that it can be maneuvered directly to the site of a boat fire and use powerful pumps and water cannons to quickly extinguish the flames. Fire boats have the luxury of an endless water supply pulling seawater from underneath the boat to put out fires.

The new fire response boat is a joint effort between the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department, the Mexican Navy and the Los Cabos tourist boating industry.

According to Los Cabos officials, the first fireboat of the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department will be in official service in the marina area in the upcoming weeks.

It will also always be accessible to serve the needs of the tourist boating industry and be under the direct command of the Mexican Secretary of the Navy.

While it will be under the control of the Mexican Navy, it will be manned by the firefighters of the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department and staffed by a group of other Los Cabos volunteers to serve the safety mission.

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The Need to Control Fires on the Sea

Much of the Los Cabos economy depends on the ocean and tourist boating services for transportation.

While there have not been a large number of incidents in Los Cabos related to fires on boats, the potential is there and the fire department realized they really did not have a plan in place to respond.

Ports in Los Cabos lacked the ability to respond to fires in vessels out in the ocean and the new fire response boat will allow them the capability to meet this important need for protection of tourists visiting the area.

Not only will the fire boat give the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department the ability to extinguish fires on boats. But it also will allow them to quickly respond to fires in tourist areas on the shoreline.

The boat can provide quick access to a shoreline fire in Los Cabos, such as in a pedestrian shopping center or tourist restaurant.

It can position itself offshore in the ocean and project a endless stream of water on to the shore to help extinguish a building fire.  

It can also be used to fight fires connected to boats in Los Cabos docks as well as the actual docks and marinas themselves.

It could also provide convenient seaside access to extinguish fires on pylons supporting these structures.

Fire boats can also be key emergency response vehicles in the event of a water main disruption because they can pull an endless amount of water direct from the sea.

Fire boats contributed to this type of firefighting effort during the Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco back in 1989.

Efforts to Fund the New Boat

Efforts are underway in Los Cabos to pay off the new fire boat.

An upcoming sportfishing tournament benefiting the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department will make a significant impact towards paying for the boat.

Along with the investment in the boat itself, funds are needed to purchase the specialized equipment to fight fires such as hoses, heavy duty pumps and other supporting equipment.

Additional fundraising events are being planned as Los Cabos launches another way to keep tourists safe when visiting the destination resort area.

A quick scan of lists of fire boats around the world did not indicate there was another one deployed in Mexico.