Fireboat of West Beach Alabama

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Fire Boat 2 is very fast.

In 2021 the municipality of West Beach, Alabama acquired fire boat 2 through a FEMA Port Security grant.[1]

Following al Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency started a program to equip American ports with modern, multi-use fireboats - vessels also capable to helping counter natural disasters, chemical spills, and attacks by nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. Some of those vessels, like the FDNY's Firefighter II, were fireboats of the very largest and most capable class, but most of the new fireboats were smaller vessels, suitable for smaller ports - like West Beach.

Like other vessels built with FEMA assistance Fire boat 2 has modern sensors that will not only help detect the hottest parts of fires, but will also help the crew to detect the heat signature of survivors in man-overboard situations.[2]

References

  1. Michael Warrick (2021-03-16). "Orange Beach unveils new fire boat capable of shooting 3k gallons of water per minute". Fox News (West Beach, Alabama). https://www.fox10tv.com/news/baldwin_county/orange-beach-unveils-new-fire-boat-capable-of-shooting-3k-gallons-of-water-per-minute/article_a35c84bc-86c8-11eb-910f-8fa56dfcd493.html. Retrieved 2021-03-16. "The City of Orange Beach received a port security grant to pay for the boat, meaning the federal government paid for 75 percent of the bill." 
  2. "Fire Boat 2: a "next-generation" fireboat". Work Boat Industry. 2021. Archived from the original on 2023-08-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20230801212541/https://workboatindustry.com/fire-boat.html. Retrieved 2023-08-01. "For firefighting, the Orange Beach fireboat delivers a flow rate of 3,000 GPM, with twin 1,500 GPM Darley fire pumps driven via PTO from the main engines. Each pump draws from its own dedicated in-hull sea chest, feeding a central manifold with crossover capability, which in turn supplies the entire system. From the fire control station at the port helm, flow is directed as desired via electronically actuated valves. The vessel is equipped with a remote-operated Elkhart Scorpion EXM electric rooftop monitor, two Elkhart Copperhead manually operated monitors aft, dual handline outlets, and a 5-inch Storz connection."