Beach Patrol & Safety

South Padre Island Fire Department Beach Patrol was started as a pilot program in July of 2008. Its goal is to monitor beach activities and to provide rescue services as needed on the City's Beaches. The long narrow beaches of SPI do not lend themselves to traditional stationary lifeguard stands; therefore a "mobile patrol" was envisioned in order to cover all of the City's beach area. They not only respond to calls for assistance and caution people on the beach about potentially hazards actions, they also provide minor first aid for jelly fish stings, scrapes, and cuts, etc. The Beach Patrol members act as ambassadors for the City by providing information to our visitors on such far ranging topics as "what kind of fish is that", to "where is a good place to watch the sunset".

Each year the Beach Patrol:

• Responds to over 1000 First aid calls

• Performs more than 2500 preventative actions

• Makes 150 swimmer assists

• Conducts over 30 rescues

The Beach Patrol is an essential part of making our visitors trip to the beach a happy and safe experience.