Fireboat 20
The City of Long Beach, California accepted a new fireboat, known as Fireboat 20 in May 2014.[1][2] A sister ship will follow within a year. The two new vessels will replace the Challenger and the Liberty, commissioned in 1987.[3] The earlier vessels had a troubled maintenance record.[4]
Fireboat 20 will be propelled by a pair of Voith-Schneider propellers, an advanced propulsion system that bears some resemblance to helicopter propulsion, and enable instantaneous changes in the propeller thrust.[1] She will be 108 feet long, with a mximum speed of 13 knots. Her ten water cannon can pump 41,000 gallons per minute, more than four times as much as her predecessors. She will be able to throw her water up to 236 feet in the air, and up to 580 feet away.
The two vessels were designed by Robert Allan Limited, a firm known for designing many widely admired tugboats, fireboats and support vessels.[2]
In addition to firefighting duties Fireboat 20 and her sister have air-tight crew compartments and a decontamination chamber, so they are equipped to respond to the relases of hazardous material, in particular they can respond to radiological, poison gas, or germ warfare attacks.[5] The vessels pumps can de-water flooded structures. The vessels are highly automated, and require only a crew of four. But they can transport 12 additional individuals. Part of the cabin can serve as an emergency infirmary, so carrying emergency medical technicians can make sense, or additional firefighters, or hazmat technicians.
The pair of vessels was budgeted at $51 million.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Powerful fireboat christened at Foss Maritime". Marine Log. 2014-04-15. Archived from the original on 2014-05-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20140516125623/http://www.marinelog.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=6711:powerful-fireboat-christened-at-foss-maritime&Itemid=229. "Fireboat 20 and its sister are replacements for two older fireboats, the Liberty and Challenger."
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rob Almeida (2013-08-29). "First Look: Port of Long Beach’s Powerful New Fireboat". GCaptain. Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20131102040259/http://gcaptain.com/powerful-fireboats-voith-propulsion/. Retrieved 2014-05-17. "Currently taking shape at Foss Maritime’s shipyard in Seattle are the Port of Long Beach’s new Robert Allan-designed fireboats. Once delivered in 2014, these will be amongst the world’s most powerful fireboats."
- ↑ Chris Woodyard (1988-04-27). "2 Long Beach Fireboats Gathering Rust". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20120204125502/http://articles.latimes.com/1988-04-27/local/me-1822_1_long-beach. Retrieved 2014-05-16. "After spending $4.4 million for two state-of-the-art fireboats, the Port of Long Beach is struggling to keep the vessels from becoming floating rust buckets."
- ↑ Chris Woodyard (1988-09-29). "Long Beach to Spend $883,000 to Save 2 Fireboats". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2012-05-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20140516170354/http://articles.latimes.com/1988-09-29/news/hl-5847_1_long-beach-boats. Retrieved 2014-05-16. "The commission is paying $653,000, the largest chunk of the funds, to a Terminal Island boatyard to correct design and construction deficiencies and to fix corrosion damage on the twin $2.2-million Challenger and Liberty, which were delivered to the city within the past two years."
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 David Krapf (2013-10-01). "Two enhanced fireboats for the Port of Long Beach". Workboat.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-28. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.workboat.com%2Fnewsdetail.aspx%3Fid%3D22046&date=2014-05-28. "In addition to firefighting, the new boats will be capable of water rescue, including vessel dewatering, towing and dive support. EMS and paramedic operations will also be incorporated. And the vessels will be equipped for detection of and self-protection from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear agents."
