Biloxi’s fire boat proves to be a vital tool for the department

BILOXI, MS (WLOX) -The Biloxi Fire Department’s fire boat has been involved in more than 50 calls and has played a key role in several rescues for more than a year.

The Serena G. is a multi-purpose vessel, and those who use it said the 33-foot floating fire truck has quickly become the department’s workhorse on the water.

"I would say since we’ve had this boat in service, since late January of last year, we’ve been on more calls on it than in our entire marine response history,” said Deputy Chief Andy Mason.

The fire boat works on many different projects, including putting out boat fires. The boat even did some special operations work during President Donald Trump’s visit to Biloxi last November.

"During a boat fire that we had about three weeks ago, it was able to supply enough water to actually put the boat out,” said Capt. Otto Vuyovich. “During the presidential visitation, we were able to turn the heat on and stay out of the weather. We were basically the last resort if an emergency came up.”

When emergencies do come up, the Serena G. has a climate-controlled cabin and two state-of-the-art water nozzles.

“It’s basically a fire engine on the water,” Mason said. "You’ve got two nozzles, one on the bow and one on the stern.”

Speaking of the fire nozzles, the one on the front can be operated through remote control. If the two motors on the back go out, they can actually use the nozzles to help navigate and steer the boat.

“We’ve already saved several lives already,” Mason added. “It does so on a regular basis.”

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