By Alan M. Petrillo

Fire departments that have ocean, lake, or riverfront coverage areas often face different fire protection issues when dealing with fire aboard ships or on piers.

Very often, the apparatus and equipment used to deal with fires in those situations will vary from that found on typical engine and truck companies.

Fireboats and Equipment

William Buck, fire chief for the Port of Houston (TX) Authority (POHA), says his department has to protect 52 miles of ship channel and installations along it. The POHA has three fire stations along the channel, each housing an engine, a hazmat unit, and a MetalCraft 71-foot FireStorm 45-knot jet-drive fireboat.

Each fireboat can flow up to 15,000 gallons per minute (gpm) through a 5,000-gpm Stang gun on top, two Elkhart Brass 1,250-gpm monitors on the bow, two 1,250-gpm Elkhart Brass monitors aft, and from several other outlets. The fireboats also carry 300 gallons of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), extrication equipment such as saws and cutters to gain entry into a ship and its structures, chemical and radiological detection equipment, an onboard breathing air cascade system, and an onboard basic life support (BLS) medical facility.

1 The Port of Houston (TX) Authority (POHA) has three 71-foot MetalCraft 45-knot jet-drive FireStorm fireboats to protect 52 miles of ship channel. Each fireboat can flow up to 15,000 gpm. [Photos 1-2 courtesy of the Port of Houston (TX) Authority.]

Nick LoCicero, assistant chief of operations for Tampa (FL) Fire Rescue, says his department has been the leading firefighting agency in the 400-square-mile Tampa bay area for a number of years, and its jurisdiction covers Port Tampa Bay and the Port of Tampa, ranked in the top 10 ports in the country in terms of commodities tonnage handled.

Tampa Fire Rescue runs three primary fireboats: the Patriot, a 69-foot MetalCraft Marine jet-drive boat with a 35-knot top speed; a 30-foot Sea-Ark, powered by three 225-horsepower (hp) Mercury outboard motors that will make 30 knots; and a 27-foot Boston Whaler, powered by two 225-hp Mercury outboards, running at 30 knots. The Patriot has a 13,000-gpm water flow through a remotely operated, roof-mounted 5,000-gpm Stang gun; two 2,000-gpm Elkhart Brass bow monitors; and two 1,250-gpm Elkhart Brass stern monitors. The fireboat carries 500 gallons of foam, has two Hale RME and two FKM (Viton) fire pumps, and has a five-inch Storz discharge for land-side connection.

2 A POHA fireboat attacks a boat fire at a pier while a land-side engine applies water from the dock side.

The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) has three primary fireboats, along with other fire and rescue craft. Three Forty Three is a 140-foot-long, 500-ton vessel capable of pumping 50,000 gpm and named in honor of the 343 FDNY members killed on September 11, 2001. Firefighter II is a sister vessel also capable of pumping 50,000 gpm, a