Since 2020 Surf City Ocean Rescue has grown its team, expanded its reach and strengthened its mission to keep beachgoers safe.
“Good morning, Surf City.”
That cheery greeting became a familiar one during the summer of 2026 as Surf City Ocean Rescue took to social media to help locals and visitors start their beach days safely.
In daily videos posted on the Surf City Fire Department’s Facebook page, Ocean Rescue staff shared high and low tide times, ocean and air temperatures, sunrise and sunset times and, most importantly, information about water conditions and beach safety.
The messages reminded beachgoers to check the color of the beach flag flying at the nearest access and to think before entering the water, because swimming in the ocean isn’t like swimming anywhere else.
Maybe you are a confident pool swimmer. Maybe you have swam all your life. The Atlantic Ocean doesn’t care.
When you enter the ocean, you share the water with its residents — sharks, fish, stingrays, jellyfish and Portuguese man o’ war — and you are at the mercy of rip currents, strong flows of water moving away from the beach.
Behind those friendly daily reminders is a serious operation. Ocean Rescue, a division of the Surf City Fire Department, has the only certified aquatic rescue response team in North Carolina, and the program is growing.
Surf City’s Ocean Rescue program began in 2020, says Deputy Fire Chief Tim Hobbs. A swimmer, surfer, career firefighter and native of coastal North Carolina, Hobbs directs the Ocean Rescue program. Lorraine Walker, a former competitive swimmer who is now a firefighter, serves as the program’s coordinator.
Hobbs and Walker say the program today is not what it was when it began, nor what they believe it will eventually become. Ocean Rescue continues to change to meet the island’s needs.
Before the program began, firefighters responded on fire engines to calls on the beach. Next, the Surf City Fire Department added a UTV, or utility terrain vehicle, to respond to beach calls. UTVs are faster and less cumbersome than a firetruck, Hobbs says.
From there, the Ocean Rescue division was created, teams were developed and the program grew.
Walker was one of the first two team members hired from “the outside” as a swimmer, though she has since become a firefighter. Her first summer was memorable, she says.
“You’re on the beach, you’re driving the gators, you’re pulling people out of the water.”
By the following summer, Walker had begun recruiting.
“I grabbed a few new people, brought them into Ocean Rescue, and I think we hired four or five that summer,” she says. “Then I went full time and I had more of a role on the fireside than I did on the beach, but I was still active. The next summer, I think we had 12, and then we had 16, and this year, we have 20. We’ve gone from that one unit patrolling six miles to six people out there on four units.”
Unlike lifeguards, who typically scan the water from an elevated fixed point such as a lifeguard chair, Surf City’s water rescue teams are constantly on the move. They patrol up and down the town’s six miles of beach from Access 1 to Access 39.
The beach is divided into zones, with each unit patrolling about a mile and a half. A smaller area of responsibility means Ocean Rescue can arrive faster when help is needed.
The program is still evolving. In the future, Hobbs hopes Ocean Rescue can add a Jr. Lifeguard program, more seasonal lifeguards and a regional competitive lifeguard team.
Hobbs and Walker hope you’ll never need them. But if you do, Surf City Ocean Rescue is ready.
NEW ADDITION
One of Surf City Ocean Rescue’s newest additions in 2026 wasn’t a rescue vehicle or piece of equipment but a stronger social media presence. The daily videos became a hit, offering useful information with an approachable style and starting each beach day with a cheerful “Hello, Surf City!”
The message behind them, however, was an important one.
Every day at the beach calls for caution, awareness and a swim buddy. Follow that advice, and perhaps all you will ever see of Surf City Ocean Rescue’s team is a friendly wave as members patrol the beach.
Get your daily beach report: surfcityfire
A PASSION TO SAVE LIVES
Aquatic Rescue Response Team, or ARRT, certification is the standard to achieve, Hobbs says. The U.S. Lifesaving Association requires agencies and organizations seeking certification to demonstrate that they operate in accordance with USLA guidelines and policies.
TRAINING to become a team member is rigorous. Walker says applicants must first pass a swim test before entering the town’s training program. Minimum qualifications include being 16 years old and having a driver’s license.
APPLICATIONS open each January for the seasonal positions.
THE SEASON: Team members train in preparation for Memorial Day weekend and work full time through Labor Day weekend. Teams often continue working weekends into early fall, with coastal weather and need determining when the season ends, Walker says.
While many of the current team members are male, Walker and Hobbs hope to recruit additional FEMALE MEMBERS. Walker increased the number of women on the team in 2026.
