The City of Miami now has a new fire station. It's floating in the middle of the bay, designed to respond to emergencies faster. The new Station 15 on Bayside is home to Miami Fire-Rescue's Marine Operations. "We step off the house boat, we step on our boat and we respond," said Lt.
The house boat didn't exist just a short time ago. For years, Lt. Cope and his crew were stationed on land in Downtown Miami.
"Which is about three blocks away from where we actually keep the boat. We would have to jump in our pickup truck and respond with lights and sirens on the dock, and jump on the boat," Lt. Cope said.
In an emergency situation, the minutes could mean life or death. Seconds and minutes count for all first responders, but especially for this team.
On land, officials said Miami Fire-Rescue's response time is 4 to 6 minutes. On the water, it's much different. It could take them 10 to 20 minutes to get to an emergency. That's if the emergency is in Miami, because although they work for the city, the water means this team has no boundaries.