The City has a Marine Incident Response Team (MIRT) as part of its Special Operations function to respond to waterborne and waterfront emergencies.  The MIRT has specialized equipment, with trained personnel assigned to provide adequate response capabilities to a variety of water-based incidents.  The fire department maintains a Fire Boat, and other support boats, equipped to provide firefighting and dive capabilities, and to respond to incidents involving marine situations.  

The fire department’s fireboat has defined capabilities with regards to marine emergencies and shipboard firefighting.  When responding to incidents on the water, the program is greatly enhanced with the mutual aid response of the Newport News Police Department, the Virginia Marine Police, Coast Guard and other surrounding agencies.  Each agency works in concert to provide adequate, efficient, and effective resources to any incident on the City’s waterways.