According to Deputy Fire Chief JP Hominick, the new vessel will be used to help battle brush fires by taking water directly from the bay to spray on the flames.

"It is saltwater, we do have an endless supply, and it comes straight from the bay. It has a through hole with suction to come straight from the bay, so as long as we don't run out of water in the bay and fuel, we have everything we need,"Hominick said.

One of the perks of the new vessel is the capability of being able to use infrared technology to search for people in the water.

The truck will not only will it be used for ambulance calls but it will also be used in the event of a fire emergency.

"We've got the capabilities and skill-set within the fire department, this is going to enable us to further expand and deliver that service to the tax payer," Chief Armstrong said. 

The new ambulance is also expected to reduce response times in the downtown area. 

"Once we staff the ambulance we get to running calls that is less time the citizens have to wait for a transport unit to begin care and transport to the hospital to a physician," Captain Jay Gouge said.  

The Bristol Life Saving crew will still maintain their normal calls while the fire department's unit  will run in addition. The new truck still has to be outfitted with equipment. 

The report lists the proposed uses for the two-story, 13,000-square-foot building at 13 Church Ave. S.E. in downtown as a combination of retail, light manufacturing (such as a workshop or “maker space”), hospitality and “certain types of live entertainment.”

“It’s an icon for Roanoke and the south end of the [City] Market,” said Dale Wilkinson, a principal of Old School Partners. “Our intention is to do no harm and hopefully be able to add to the community.”

Wilkinson said negotiations with the city lasted 14 months or more.

The building, which was replaced by a new station at the corner of Elm Avenue and Franklin Road in 2007, is on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.

The proposed floating structure would accommodate a third fire boat; new rescue watercraft, jet skis and a dive boat; men’s and women’s locker rooms, a dorm with 23 beds and officer quarters for 12; and direct ambulance access to the back of fire station for transfers of those who are injured.

If all goes as planned, the new floating station, which is to be assembled on a barge docked at Treasure Island and transported across the bay, will be delivered and operational in 2021 while the historic fire station building will continue to house a fire engine and fitness room for the San Francisco Fire Department’s Engine Company #35.

The price tag to replace the Middletown Volunteer Fire Department’s 2000 pumper truck with a new unit is $650,000 to $700,000.

The borough has $136,000 in a fund to help the department buy new equipment. The pumper has trade-in value or can be sold to a third-party vendor, but the department will need outside revenue to pay for the new apparatus, the chief said.

“My guys cannot perform enough fundraisers to raise that kind of money, with the amount of man hours they put in on top of fundraisers” in responding to calls and keeping up training, Whitebread said.

He is requesting council approve the borough being a co-applicant with the department to apply for a gaming grant through Dauphin County to help pay for a new pumper.