FDNY Ready to Build Nation's Best Fireboats
New York Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta announced March 29 that FDNY is seeking bids to construct two state-of-the-art fireboats that will have more firefighting capabilities than any other vessel in North America. These will be 140-foot fast-response fireboats, the pride of the department's fleet, which patrols more than 600 miles of coastline in the Port of New York/New Jersey.
FDNY had awarded a contract in July 2005 for the fireboats' design to Robert Allan Ltd., of Vancouver, British Columbia, and department members have been working with the design team since then. The two boats will boast a response speed of 20 mph, the ability to pump 50,000 gallons per minute, and the capacity to supply water up to 5 miles inland. They will have a decontamination shower for hazardous materials, air filtration to protect personnel from airborne agents, a rescue boat for rapid deployment, areas for patient treatment and transporting firefighter companies, and a crane for high-level water streams and access to ships.
Both boats are expected to launch in 2009.