By Alan M. Petrillo

1 The FDNY operates three large fireboats: Three Forty Three and the William M. Feehan (both shown here) and Firefighter II. (Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of the Fire Department of New York.)

Fireboats, rescue boats, and combinations of the two require specialized equipment for firefighters and rescue personnel to perform their jobs expeditiously.

The kind of equipment carried on these boats, whether large oceanfront boats or smaller river/lake craft, depends on the type of body of water, the potential hazards on the water and along the shore, and the missions the boats are charged with.

2 Six SAFE Boats are in the FDNY’s marine fleet, outfitted to handle firefighting, search and rescue, hazmat calls, and medical runs.

Department Fireboats

Joseph Abbamonte, battalion chief for the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) Marine Battalion, says that the New York harbor is one of the largest natural harbors in the world, with 500 miles of coastline and the largest container port on the East Coast of the country. Abbamonte says the FDNY operates three large fireboats (William M. Feehan, Firefighter II, and Three Forty Three), plus six 33-foot SAFE Boats outfitted to handle firefighting, search and rescue, hazmats, and medical runs.

3 The Stan Musial is the St. Louis (MO) Fire Department’s 42½-foot MetalCraft Marine fire and rescue boat powered by twin Cummins 600-hp engines driving water jets that operates on the Mississippi River. [Photos 3 and 4 courtesy of St. Louis (MO) Fire Department.]

The SAFE Boats are powered by three 350-horsepower (hp) Yamaha outboard engines, he says, and have a Chevy 350-cubic-inch engine in the bow that powers a 1,000-gallon-per-minute (gpm) Darley pump. The boats carry 100 feet each of 2½- and 1¾-inch hose, a halligan tool, ax, closet hook, manual bolt cutters, reciprocating saw, damage control kits for boats taking on water, search-and-rescue gear [throw bags and personal flotation devices (PFDs)], carbon monoxide detectors, gas meters, thermal imaging cameras (TICs), and radiation detection meters. “Sometimes we have a medical emergency on a boat where we don’t know what caused the emergency,” Abbamonte notes, “and because we operate alone out there, we have our own meters and equipment to make that determination.”

Read more 292 0 Article rating: No rating Posted: Jul 10, 2017 Snake Oil and Firefighter Cancer   Robert Tutterow They might be among the worst of the worst - snake oil salespeople trying to capitalize on the cancer epidemic among firefighters. In recent months, I have been made aware of at least three companies/individuals making bogus claims. Every firefighter should be on alert for products and services that are being falsely touted to prevent or minimize the risk of cancer. Firefighter Soap Earlier in the year, I was made aware of a company using one of the company startup programs on the Internet to raise money for a soap especially formulated for firefighters to remove the byproducts of combustion from the body. Naturally, this piqued my interest, and I took a close look at the company’s Web site. Immediately a red flag was raised when I saw all the different fragrances offered. This just did not pass the “smell test” (pun intended) in my mental processing system. As I scrolled through the Web site, I noticed that part of the revenue generated by those who contributed would be donated to the Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN). Being fortunate enough to know people directly affiliated with the FCSN, I immediately contacted them to see what they knew about this product. They knew nothing about it, and they immediately contacted the company. Within a couple of hours, the reference to the FCSN was removed from the Web site. Apparently, the FCSN raised a few questions to this company that it could not answer, and the site was taken completely down a few hours later. Miracle On-Scene Cleaner A few months ago, I had an opportunity to observe a live fire training session at an acquired structure. At this training fire, there were a couple of people touting a cleaner to decontaminate personal protective equipment (PPE) while on the scene. The firefighters were sent to a designated area, before entering rehab, to be “decontaminated.” The firefighters kept their PPE on while they were sprayed with a garden-style sprayer with an agent that was touted to decontaminate the gear. Because of my interest in PPE and focus on minimizing the risks of cancer, I naturally had to ask a lot of questions. Does it really work? Has it been proven to work? Does it harm the PPE? Are there other health risks to the firefighter? Does it harm the environment? Has it been approved for use by any of the PPE manufacturers? Unfortunately, there was no substantiation of the claims being made - at least by those applying the product. Though skeptical, if by chance the product did what it claimed without any other adverse effects, this was going to be one great product for the fire service. Of course, a red flag was raised as, like the firefighter soap, this did not pass my “smell test.” I was able to get the name and contact information of the head of the company that made the product. At the close of the training session, I immediately called this person. I told him who I was, a little bit about my background, and that I was a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) technical committee responsible for NFPA 1851, Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting. He “pretended” to be excited to hear from me. I told him the type of information I was seeking, and he said he did not have time to talk at that moment but definitely wanted to speak with me in detail. We set up a time for the following day for me to call him. I called prompt Read more 281 0 Article rating: No rating Posted: Jul 10, 2017 Snake Oil and Firefighter Cancer   Robert Tutterow They might be among the worst of the worst - snake oil salespeople trying to capitalize on the cancer epidemic among firefighters. In recent months, I have been made aware of at least three companies/individuals making bogus claims. Every firefighter should be on alert for products and services that are being falsely touted to prevent or minimize the risk of cancer. Firefighter Soap Earlier in the year, I was made aware of a company using one of the company startup programs on the Internet to raise money for a soap especially formulated for firefighters to remove the byproducts of combustion from the body. Naturally, this piqued my interest, and I took a close look at the company’s Web site. Immediately a red flag was raised when I saw all the different fragrances offered. This just did not pass the “smell test” (pun intended) in my mental processing system. As I scrolled through the Web site, I noticed that part of the revenue generated by those who contributed would be donated to the Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN). Being fortunate enough to know people directly affiliated with the FCSN, I immediately contacted them to see what they knew about this product. They knew nothing about it, and they immediately contacted the company. Within a couple of hours, the reference to the FCSN was removed from the Web site. Apparently, the FCSN raised a few questions to this company that it could not answer, and the site was taken completely down a few hours later. Miracle On-Scene Cleaner A few months ago, I had an opportunity to observe a live fire training session at an acquired structure. At this training fire, there were a couple of people touting a cleaner to decontaminate personal protective equipment (PPE) while on the scene. The firefighters were sent to a designated area, before entering rehab, to be “decontaminated.” The firefighters kept their PPE on while they were sprayed with a garden-style sprayer with an agent that was touted to decontaminate the gear. Because of my interest in PPE and focus on minimizing the risks of cancer, I naturally had to ask a lot of questions. Does it really work? Has it been proven to work? Does it harm the PPE? Are there other health risks to the firefighter? Does it harm the environment? Has it been approved for use by any of the PPE manufacturers? Unfortunately, there was no substantiation of the claims being made - at least by those applying the product. Though skeptical, if by chance the product did what it claimed without any other adverse effects, this was going to be one great product for the fire service. Of course, a red flag was raised as, like the firefighter soap, this did not pass my “smell test.” I was able to get the name and contact information of the head of the company that made the product. At the close of the training session, I immediately called this person. I told him who I was, a little bit about my background, and that I was a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) technical committee responsible for NFPA 1851, Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting. He “pretended” to be excited to hear from me. I told him the type of information I was seeking, and he said he did not have time to talk at that moment but definitely wanted to speak with me in detail. We set up a time for the following day for me to call him. I called prompt Read more 271 0 Article rating: No rating Posted: Jul 10, 2017 Snake Oil and Firefighter Cancer   Robert Tutterow They might be among the worst of the worst - snake oil salespeople trying to capitalize on the cancer epidemic among firefighters. In recent months, I have been made aware of at least three companies/individuals making bogus claims. Every firefighter should be on alert for products and services that are being falsely touted to prevent or minimize the risk of cancer. Firefighter Soap Earlier in the year, I was made aware of a company using one of the company startup programs on the Internet to raise money for a soap especially formulated for firefighters to remove the byproducts of combustion from the body. Naturally, this piqued my interest, and I took a close look at the company’s Web site. Immediately a red flag was raised when I saw all the different fragrances offered. This just did not pass the “smell test” (pun intended) in my mental processing system. As I scrolled through the Web site, I noticed that part of the revenue generated by those who contributed would be donated to the Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN). Being fortunate enough to know people directly affiliated with the FCSN, I immediately contacted them to see what they knew about this product. They knew nothing about it, and they immediately contacted the company. Within a couple of hours, the reference to the FCSN was removed from the Web site. Apparently, the FCSN raised a few questions to this company that it could not answer, and the site was taken completely down a few hours later. Miracle On-Scene Cleaner A few months ago, I had an opportunity to observe a live fire training session at an acquired structure. At this training fire, there were a couple of people touting a cleaner to decontaminate personal protective equipment (PPE) while on the scene. The firefighters were sent to a designated area, before entering rehab, to be “decontaminated.” The firefighters kept their PPE on while they were sprayed with a garden-style sprayer with an agent that was touted to decontaminate the gear. Because of my interest in PPE and focus on minimizing the risks of cancer, I naturally had to ask a lot of questions. Does it really work? Has it been proven to work? Does it harm the PPE? Are there other health risks to the firefighter? Does it harm the environment? Has it been approved for use by any of the PPE manufacturers? Unfortunately, there was no substantiation of the claims being made - at least by those applying the product. Though skeptical, if by chance the product did what it claimed without any other adverse effects, this was going to be one great product for the fire service. Of course, a red flag was raised as, like the firefighter soap, this did not pass my “smell test.” I was able to get the name and contact information of the head of the company that made the product. At the close of the training session, I immediately called this person. I told him who I was, a little bit about my background, and that I was a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) technical committee responsible for NFPA 1851, Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting. He “pretended” to be excited to hear from me. I told him the type of information I was seeking, and he said he did not have time to talk at that moment but definitely wanted to speak with me in detail. We set up a time for the following day for me to call him. I called prompt Read more 205 0 Article rating: No rating RSS FirstPrevious3358335933603361336233633364336533663367NextLast Theme picker Section Quick Links   Fire Mechanics Documents EVT Discussion Forum Fire Mechanic Photo Gallery Training & Testing 2019 Scholarship Logo Wear Store Upcoming Events Theme picker Sponsors Fire Mechanics Section Board Chair Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Chair Elliot Courage North Whatcom Fire & Rescue Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Vice Chair Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Vice Chair Mike Smith  Pierce County Fire District #5 Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Secretary Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Secretary Greg Bach South Snohomish County Fire & Rescue Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Director #1 Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Director #1 Doug Jones South Kitsap Fire & Rescue Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Director #2 Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Director #2 Paul Spencer  Fire Fleet Maintenance LLC Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Director #3 Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Director #3 Jim Morris Mountain View Fire Department Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Director #4 Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Director #4 Arnie Kuchta Clark County Fire District 6 Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Director #6 Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Director #6 Brett Annear Kitsap County Fire District 18 Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Director #5 Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Director #5 Jay Jacks Camano Island Fire & Rescue Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating Legislative Representative Posted: Oct 21, 2015 Legislative Representative TBD TBD Read more 3514 0 Article rating: No rating Immediate Past Chair Posted: Oct 20, 2015 Immediate Past Chair Brian Fortner Graham Fire & Rescue Read more 0 0 Article rating: No rating RSS Theme picker 2020 CAR SHOW Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement - Copyright 2025 by Washington Fire Chiefs Home Members About Us News Calendar Resources Documents Sections County Fire Chiefs FRWC WSAFM