James Mayse

Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

(MCT)

The Owensboro Fire Department is seeking bids to replace its large firefighting boat. An official with the fire department said Monday a vendor to construct the boat will be chosen in early November.

The city issued a request for bids for a new fire rescue boat Monday.

OFD Battalion Chief Richard Peach said the department is looking to purchase a 29- to 30-foot-long boat that would have firefighting capability and equipment such as sonar for water emergencies.

The department has a fireboat that is about 10 years old, but the company that built the boat is no longer in operation.

Peach said the current boat has has some issues, but that its biggest deficiency is its design.

The current boat is fiberglass, while department officials are seeking a metal boat. Boats with metal hulls are easier to repair when damaged, Peach said.

“The upkeep on (metal boats) is a little better,” Peach said. The department would also like to replace the current boat, which has a “Tri-V” hull, because the style is more susceptible to damage than a “Deep V” hull, Peach said.

Overall, the current boat is fit the department’s needs on the water.

“We are replacing it a little bit early, but we have had some issues,” Peach said. The boat “was not conducive to what we needed,” although officials didn’t know that when the boat was purchased, he said.

“It has definitely served its purpose,” but does not match the department’s current needs, Peach said.

With the city hosting river events like the Owensboro Air Show and HydroFair, there was a impetus to replace the current boat.

“We decided to go ahead and replace it because we are having so much activity on the river,” Peach said.

The boat will have current technology and will have a pumper that can pump 500 gallons of water or more per minute, Peach said.

Other details will be worked out with the vendor chosen to build the boat.

The hope is to have the boat ready, and to have crews trained, in time for next year’s Air Show, Peach said.

James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com, Twitter: @JamesMayse

___

(c)2022 the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.)

Visit the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.) at www.messenger-inquirer.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Ferrara—Somerdale (NJ) Fire Department rescue pumper. Cinder cab and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; Hale Qmax 2,000-gpm pump; 500-gallon polypropylene water tank; low hosebed; Ferrara extruded aluminum body; Harrison 15-kW generator. Dealer: Jonathon VanNorman, FF1 Apparatus, Sparta, NJ.

PREVIOUS PHOTO OF THE DAY >>

MORE FIRE APPARATUS ARTICLES >>

A decommissioned fire truck was stolen and found abandoned in a residential neighborhood in Niagara Falls early Monday, police say, GlobalNews.ca reported.

In a news release, Niagara Regional Police said officers responded to Buckeye Crescent, near the QEW and McLeod Road, at around 1:30 a.m. for a report of a possible abandoned stolen vehicle.

Police said a full-sized fire truck was found in the middle of the road, according to the report.

Witnesses report that at approximately 1:30 a.m. they saw two persons believed to be youth males exit the truck and run from the area, the release said.

The fire truck had damage to its passenger-side front bumper, windshield and mirror, officers said, according to the report.

Firefighters went to the scene and told officers that the truck was decommissioned and not being used by the department, the report said.

Anyone with information on the incident is being asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

Construction of a new Central Fire Station in Rumford, which was supposed to get underway this fall, has been delayed until the spring because of federal financing delays, SunJournal.com reported.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development said the city needed to take steps in order to secure the million dollar funding, a city official reported to the town council, the report said. Those federal requirements put the brakes on temporarily with that (construction) process.

The city official told selectmen what followed was a required environmental analysis of the site. There was no significant findings, according to the city official, but jumping through those federal hoops will cause delays, the report said.

At a special town meeting in January, residents approved a $5.4 million bond and acceptance of $1 million from the federal government to build a new Central Fire Station in the Falmouth Street area, according to the report.

The city official said with federal interest rates going up to try to curb inflation, hopefully it brings prices down, the report said.

The Central Fire Station on Congress Street, which was built in 1924, has cracks throughout because the floor cannot hold the weight of the five fire engines and two trailers, the report said. The floor was reinforced in 1991, but the cracks have continued to spread, officials said.