Central Fire District responds to numerous water rescue incidents across miles of coastline, encompassing beaches and ocean cliffs that are home to some of the busiest beaches in Santa Cruz County, as well as several world-class surf breaks. Thousands of locals and tourists flock each year to our beautiful beaches for recreation and business.
In 2003, both the Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District and the Central Fire Protection District initiated an ocean and surf rescue team to provide primary life safety response to emergencies in the ocean. Now that the districts have combined, we currently have 25–30 rescue swimmers who are certified by the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) with Aquatic Rescue Response Team (ARRT) certification. Our swimmers complete a 40-hour USLA course, followed by an annual refresher training of 24 hours, and they must pass an annual swim test of 1,000 yards in the open ocean in under 20 minutes. The physical demands of open ocean swimming and rescue require team members to remain in top physical shape year-round.
These outstanding individuals are full-time firefighters, firefighter paramedics, and captains with Central Fire District, who add the role of rescue swimmer to their regular work duties.
