The Coast Guard honored one of the nation’s first regionalized cooperative fireboat task force at a ceremonial “Blessing of the Fleet” event on Tuesday morning.
The event honored the firefighters and their leadership, who along with the Coast Guard, collaborated to establish the task force.
Established by U.S Coast Guard Sector New York and a partnership of 12 New Jersey Fire Departments located in five counties of northern and central New Jersey, the New Jersey Regional Fireboat Task Force collectively provides fire protection and other emergency services over a 50-mile stretch of waterfront within the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Utilizing funds from the Port Security Grant Program, fireboats and training have been provided to member departments, and North Hudson Regional Fire Rescue has assumed responsibility for fireboat dispatching and response coordination in concert with Coast Guard Sector New York.
Capt. Michael Day, commander, U.S. Coast Guard Sector New York, shared remarks recognizing the successful collaboration between the Coast Guard and the task force to improve maritime domain awareness with many federal, state, county and local officials in attendance at the event.
“The Port Security Grant program is a result of an identified need to protect the critical infrastructure and key resources in the Port of New York and New Jersey,” Day said, who also serves as Captain of the Port of New York and New Jersey and the Port of Albany. “The fire departments honored today have applied for and received federal funding to do just that and have been critical in ensuring the safety and security of the port while serving as a force multiplier to the Coast Guard since going live in September 2017.”
