North Collier Fire adds extra shift, crew

North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District is adding an additional shift and a beach crew to increase efficiency to keep area residents safe.

Firefighters have three shifts, each lasting 24 hours. A fourth shift would respond to calls during peak hours.

“We were realizing we had a pretty unique time frame in a day during the day when we were running the bulk of our calls,” said Assistant Chief Jorge Aguilera.

The fourth shift will take place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and is designed to move and respond to areas with high call volumes.

Fire crews said they use a small buggy and motorized paddle board to help people on the beach.

“The important part about it is they’re basically able to shift themselves to where the needs are in the district without really having to be dispatched or being told to go. .. and maneuver themselves to the point of needs,” Aguilera said.

Fire officials said they’ll use existing personnel and vehicles to streamline operations in the event of an emergency.

“We’ve improved the response to emergencies we’ve improved the number of vehicles during the day we have responding, and we’re now able to cover the beach basically on a seven-day-week basis,” Aguilera said.

North Collier Fire said they’ll use this shift system for approximately six months and then look to possibly hire more people.