Fireboat

The Port of Houston is getting three new Fireboats this year, and the first of them is on the way.

These 70 foot vessels will allow firefighters to remain on-scene for extended periods of time and the cabin contains a primary care facility where EMTs can care for the injured.  The boats are highly maneuverable – can turn in just three boat lengths – and they are fast.  The quad diesels can push the boat to a maximum speed of 45 knots, three times as fast the current fleet’s fastest boat.

Built by Metalcraft Marine, the top manufacturer of high speed craft for fire departments, the Coast Guard, etc., the boats will get a pretty thorough shake-down cruise on the way here.  The boats will travel under their own power from the plant in Kingston, Ontario, across four of the Great Lakes to Chicago – then down the Mississippi and across to Galveston.  For the trip, the first boat will be captained by Ron Peddle, one of Metalcraft’s owners, and the five-man crew will include three from the Port of Houston Authority Fire Department.

The first of the three boats on order should be arriving here about the first of June.