MetalCraft Marine

The Kingston Ontario Fire Department responded to an impressive fire at Rideau Marina on July 17 2010 with their MetalCraft Marine re-fitted fireboat

The maintenance shop was completely destroyed.

Here are more photos of the vessel responding as well as some impressive land-side photos of the blaze in the Kingston Whig Standard and a video segment of the vessel from CKWS-TV news.

KINGSTON FIRE RESCUE ALSO BROUGHT IN THEIR NEWLY COMMISSIONED FIREBOAT - THE H.T. PATTERSON.

BULLOCK:

"THAT WAS INSTRUMENTAL TO BRINGING FINAL EXTINGUISHMENT TO THIS FIRE AND SAVING THE BOAT STORAGE BUILDING. IT PROVED ITS WORTH".

Hazmat crews from East Providence and Providence Fire Departments, using MetalCraft Marine FireStorm CBRN-equipped fireboats, work to secure fishing boat after mustard gas leak injures one fisherman and contaminates the dragger.

The military used the ocean as a dumping ground for munitions from after World War II through 1970. While the tons of old chemical weapons in offshore waters present a danger to fishermen, experts don't believe they are a possible source of weapons for terrorists.

The Atlantic City, N.J.-based vessel was fishing Sunday in a charted munitions dumping zone, but the designation is just a warning and carries no fishing restrictions, Rhodes said.

The two shells — about a foot long and three inches in diameter — came aboard in a haul of clams. The Coast Guard believes one of the shells cracked or otherwise leaked its contents.

Here's a great news story about how Tampa Fire & Rescue's FireStorm 69, The Patriot, was pivotal in extinguishing a raging fire in a conveyor system at the Port of Tampa.

Quoting Fox-News Channel 13:

The firefighters on the dock were having a difficult time getting the blaze under control, Captain Bill Wade told FOX 13, and using the vessel on the water side made it possible to attack the flames from two different angles.

"With this vessel, the way that it's built, it's set up not only as a fire fighting vessel but also as a command and control vessel," Wade said. "The firefighters on this vessel had the ability to see what's going on with this ship that is burning, they can control the situation from their side and make sure that fire crews are acting safely, because fighting a ship is much different than fighting a fire in a building."

There is one hose on the top of the Patriot, along with two in front and two at the back of the vessel. They can pump a total of 13,500 gallons of water per minute. Captain Wade says that is about the equivalent of nine fire trucks.

Two videos of the incident. The first from Fox News , the second from Tampa Fire Rescue .

It's clear from these videos that water-side access can be much more flexible and effective in fighting fires in-port. Note how constrained the land-side firetrucks appear to be in this instance.

A 71-foot yacht burned for nearly eight hours at the Sunset Harbor Yacht Club in Daytona, Florida.

"Without a fireboat, we were pretty limited in what we could do," Daytona Beach fire Battalion Chief Dru Driscoll said, explaining that his department hasn't had such a boat for the past eight years. "The Coast Guard came in around noon, but they have policies that restrict them from getting next to the boat, so that added to the delay."

Warwick, Rhode Island-based Marine 4, a MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 30 figures prominently in this WCVB-TV 5 News Report about the response and rescue effort following a tragic accident that killed two young Massachusetts women Sunday night on Narragansett Bay.

Al Thomas reports from the flooding in Nashville, about their high-speed FireStorm 40 aluminum fireboat:

The boat is in great shape. We have had it busy constantly for six days, and it is performing flawlessly. Two marinas were flooded and several docks had broken loose, and we were able to reposition those and secure them. We also had a barge on the river in downtown Nashville that is used for public events that had broken loose from it's mooring, and we used cables to re-secure it. The Cumberland river crested over 14 feet above flood stage, and we had to move the boat to a marina downstream which is several miles from the riverfront area.

Two videos featuring Tampa's MetalCraft FireStorm 69 fireboat from The Battalion series.

Watch the promos for CMT's Danger Coast featuring a fully engulfed 56-foot Carver and TWO MetalCraft Marine fireboats.

Here's more about the episode including biographies of the firecrews and some good pictures.

More CMT Shows   More CMT Videos

Here's a KGO-San Francisco video news item of a boat fire at Schoonmaker Point in Sausalito.

A 32-foot cabin cruiser is burning and fire officials are trying to keep it from spreading to nearby boats.

The vessel responding is Southern Marin Fire District's MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 30.

Here's another news item from June 2009 showing great video of the same vessel taking care of business during a fire in a group of houseboats at Liberty Dock on the Sausalito waterfront.

A 56-foot 2002 Carver yacht caught fire and sank yesterday off Key Biscayne.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Fireboat 1 tried to save the Kemosabe without success. As the stricken yacht sent a plume of smoke into the sky that could be seen for miles, fire crews drenched the boat with foam in an attempt to control the flames.

Check out this great article about us in the March 10th edition of The Globe and Mail's Report on Business.

Here's a good slide gallery of the Osage Beach, Missouri FireStrom 30 extinguishing a raging fire at a lakefront home.

Here's a good news story from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, whose FireStorm 36 completely extinguished a raging boat-fire.

The bulk of the fire was knocked down from a distance utilizing the monitor on the front of the fire boat. As the fire started to darken down, firefighters were able to get closer to the boat to extinguish the remainder of the fire utilizing a hand line.

See a larger readable version .

We're proud to share this testimonial from Scott Appleby, Director, Office of Emergency Management & Homeland Security, City of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The boat is tremendous and will be a great asset to our community and State when dealing with issues pertaining to fire and search & search rescue operations.

He's referring to the City of Bridgeport FireBrand 28 fireboat pictured here.

Here's a scan of a January 4 2010 article in The Kingston Whig-Standard about early-winter sea trials of four high-speed crew/patrol boats we're building for Panama.

MetalCraft's FireStrom 69 has been namd the 2009 Workboat of the Year by Marine News magazine.

This is the third time MetalCraft Marin has won this award:

• In 2009 for the FireStorm 69.

• In 2002 for the FireStorm 36.

• In 1999 for the 65-foot Polar Barge.

Check out this interesting and fast-moving interview by Dave Gardy with MetalCraft Marine Contracts Manager Bob Clark from the tradeshow floor of the 2009 International WorkBoat Convention which just concluded in New Orleans, LA.

MetalCraft's customers report that 75-80% of rescues are in shallow water or on shores that are inaccessible by road or air vehicles.

Here is video of damage to a prop-driven Portland Maine Fireboat. The story tells more about what happened.

November 1st in Perth Amboy, NJ, the owner of a 44-foot cabin cruiser had just started a gasoline powered generator to run a battery charger and it caught fire.

The fire extinguisher was in the forward section of the vessel so the owner elected to jump into his dingy and make for the Raritan Yacht Club instead of facing the possibility of being trapped in the forward part of the boat.

No one was injured.

Shown here an in other photos is Perth Amboy's MetalCraft Marine Firestorm 36 responding.

Update: Story from MyCentralJersey.com .

Two MetalCraft Marine fireboats respond to a 50-foot power-boat fire in Biscayne Bay in late August.

Here's a writup by CBC Channel-4 and dozens of photos from the incident.

Tampa Bay Online reports that the city's newest fireboat, a MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 69, has arrived.

The Patriot, a 69-foot, 52-ton vessel, crossed under the Sunshine Skyway about noon today with jets of water flying 100 feet in all directions. The fireboat was built in Kingston, Ontario, and cost $3.8 million – paid for with a Department of Homeland Security grant.

It arrived just before 2 p.m. at Marjorie Park on Davis Islands.

"It's not just a fire boat or a fire fighting resource," said Scott Ehlers, Tampa Fire Rescue's assistant chief of operations. "It is now a command and control element; it's a security element."

The delivery between Kingston and Tampa Bay was not without incident. The Patriot ran aground on a shallow sandbar at low-tide near St. Augustine, Florida and required assistance to get-off.

Here's an interesting YouTbe video of that experience.

There was no damage whatsoever to the vessel which is designed and built for shallow-water operations.

See more photos of The Patriot from its construction, launch, and sea-trials in Kingston.

Here's a news story with video from WPRI Eyewitness News about Providence, Rhode Island's new FireStrom 30.

WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) - Securing local waterways and protecting the safety of those who use them.

On Wednesday, one fire department unveiled its newest tool that will patrol the Port of Providence.

This is the fourth in a fleet of vessels known as the Port of Providence Marine Strike Team.

The 30 foot, jet powered m4 has a long list of features including infrared cameras, sonar to detect underwater objects a 50 gallon foam tank for chemical and other fires.

She will be available to go anywhere in the state for search and rescue, evacuations and sinking vessels and she can move too, 38 miles per hour and the jets allow her to operate in as little as 20 inches of water.

The half million dollar boat was paid for by a federal security grant.

Here's a story, with video about the Portsmouth NH fire department responding to a massive boat-fire with their MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 30 fireboat in an upriver area that's without road access.

Add saving a whale to what fireboats are useful-for.

Boat crews from the U.S. Coast Guard, along with the Perth Amboy and New York fire departments, spent the next several hours following it and enforcing a protection zone around the mammal, Coast Guard Lt. Caren Damon said. The crews hoped to keep other boats aware of the situation as they waited for the whale to find its way back into the sea.

But what started as a 500-yard perimeter shrunk when the whale swam into the Raritan River and headed toward New Brunswick, Coast Guard and Perth Amboy officials said. At one point it was seen swimming under the railroad bridge between Perth Amboy and South Amboy.

MetalCraft Marine Inc of Kingston Ontario and Clayton New York just rolled out the latest version of their award winning FireStorm-line of fireboats. The new FireStorm 69 will be the fastest fireboat in the world in the over 10,000 GPM class. It is the first NFPA Class 2 vessel built in North America.

On their way to an emergency call the 100,000 lb hull tops out at 40 Miles per Hour. Its super-low draft (28") at speed with quad Hamilton Jet drives and Iveco diesels will permit the Tampa Fire Rescue team to cross shallow areas cutting miles of travel.

The presence of the craft and its state-of-the-art systems will make the port of Tampa one of the safest in the United States. All thanks to an UASI grant from DHS.

Key features include:

• Four Iveco C13 825hp @ 2400rpm,
• Foam System - Accumax 7 discharge,
• 5500 GPM Stang main monitor,
• 2 x 2000 Elkhart monitors and 2 x 1250 Elkhart monitors,
• 4 Hale pumps producing over 13,500 gpm,
• 5 x 5" storz connections,
• Hydraulic crane,
• Jordair scuba/scba cascade refill station,
• full galley and accommodation for 4 crew,
• medical center with fridge, sink and oxygen.
• The vessel also has 2 x Onan 13.5 KW gensets.

The Jacksonville Florida Fire Department has a FireStorm of that size under construction now, due for delivery next summer.

Here are some photos of Tampa's FireStorm 69 fireboat we've recently launched.

Click to see more photos, including some taken during vessel construction.

Here is news , video , and a slideshow of a fire that destroyed a large water-side residence in Miami last week.

Miami-Dade's MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 50 was on scene.

Fire torches two houseboats in Sausalito and a MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 30 responds to the call.

Here's a video created by our customers from Tampa who were recently in-town checking on the progress of their FireStorm 70, presently under construction.

There's been lots of coverage of a four-alarm fire last week in Portsmouth, RI at the New England Boatworks shipyard.

• Photos by photographer Phil Sullivan
• Providence Journal article
• Boston.com
• Video and video (including Lt. Joe Crowshaw)

Some of you might recognize the New England Boatworks : it's famous for building high-tech large racing sailboats including several for skipper Dennis Connor over the years..

Pictured here is one of three MetalCraft Marine FireStorm fireboats that responded to the call.

Here are rollover pictures for MetalCraft Marine Hull #507, a Kingston 50 being built for the Panama Canal Authority .

At MetalCraft Marine, we build all our hulls upside-down, and then we roll-the-hulls-over and then finish vessel construction right-side-up.

We use our outoor 70-ton crane to roll-over the larger hulls and we then attach the housings, which are built separately. This process is what's shown in the photos.

MetalCraft Marine will be building four such vessels for the Panama Canal Authority over the upcoming year.

City of Miami Department of Fire-Rescue has a new edition to their operations, a bright red FireStorm 48, ready to respond to waterborne emergencies within City of Miami waters as well as the overall region covering the Miami Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) under U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Deputy Fire Chief Brad Dougherty and MetalCraft Marine worked extensively and collectively in the design and construction of the new FireStorm 48.

The custom designed boat is powered by twin Iveco C-13's 770 hp @ 2300 rpm and 364 Hamilton jets putting out speeds of up to 37 knots. Twin Darley 1750 fire pumps provide an impressive water flow approaching 4,000 GPM.

The Vessel is also equipped with the Hamilton Jet - Blue Arrow system, a high level integrated operational control system between the water jets, gearboxes, engines and helm station. There are multiple levels of redundancy for safety. The highlight of the system is the "MouseBoat" maneuvering controller. A mouse similar to the mouse for a computer is shaped like a boat and located on a pad at the console. When the MouseBoat is moved in any direction, the boat will react accordingly for ease of maneuverability.

Additionally, the vessel is equipped with extensive operational components and electronics. Some examples include: NVTI stabilized optics consisting of High Resolution Thermal Imager, High Resolution 432X Zoom Color Camera, Ultra Low Lux Day/Night Camera integrated into Furuno large screen stations with Radar/Tracking, GPS Chartplotting, Dual Frequency Sonar/Sounder; Weatherfax; VHFs; Color Cameras covering engine room, decks and underwater; Underwater Lighting; Integrated Alarm Monitoring for vessel systems; 800mhz radios.

Fire Chief William Bryson and the Department are extremely pleased with the new arrival and look forward to providing increased levels of Fire-Rescue emergency services to the community and region.

Five years ago, MetalCraft produced the first FireStorm boat and has not turned back. Each boat having a unique and personalized flavor chosen by our customers. We have been designing and building boats, both power and sail, since 1978 and stand behind our 10-year hull warranty.

And there's compelling video too, from ABC's JustNews.com.

Two MetalCraft Marine fireboats were on the scene (large photo).

The red fireboat on the left is a FireStorm 48 belonging to the City of Miami. The margarita-lime fireboat on its right is a FireStorm 50 from Miami-Dade County.

Also see 4 jump to flee burning yacht in the Miami Sun Sentinal.

Here'a a great video from CBS Channel-4 in Miami about Miami-Dade County's MetalCraft Marine-built high-speed fireboats.

Rhode Island welcomes three new high-speed FireStorm 30-foot aluminum CBRNE fireboats for Providence, East Providence and Cranston Fire Departments, with one more on the way for Warwick.

Fire Chief George Farrell, Fire Chief Joseph J. Klucznik, Fire Chief James Gumbley and their teams are excited about the new arrivals. Twin Cummins Merc. 4.2L diesel engines paired with Hamilton 241 jets power the 30-foot vessels which can reach speeds of 40 MPH.

The firefighting capabilities of the CBRNE boat include one roof mounted, remote master stream monitor with foam educting nozzle, a bow mounted remote master stream monitor, a 2½-inch discharges for hand lines, a rear mounted 2-1/2" manual monitor and one 5-inch storz discharge to supply land-based operations.

The Darley 1750 fire pumps are capable of flowing more than 2500 gallons per minute. These CBRNE vessels are equipped with Hazardous gas detection equipment, which can be linked from one boat to the others, and back to headquarters.

The boats can perform in shallow draft conditions and are able to maneuver in tight quarters. They are capable of operating in inclement conditions, including driving rain and dense fog.

Here are more photos of these three vessels.

Here's a photo of Guntersville Fire Rescue attacking a blaze from the shore.

This could have been devastating but because of their quick action, they managed to save most of the Marina and its boats.

MCM is hoping we have the opportunity to build them a FireBrand 28 in the near future. They definitely could have used it for this fire.

Two high-speed Kingston 36 high-speed patrol boats will be stationed in Pointe-A-Pierre , patrolling the Petrotrin Oil viaducts as well as Petrotrin oil platforms offshore in the Soldado Oil fields.

Selwyn Johnetty and his team are excited about the new arrivals.

Twin QSB 5.9L 425hp @ 3000 Cummins diesel engines paired with Hamilton 292 jets power the 36-foot vessel; the boat can reach speeds of 37 MPH.

The boat comes equipped with 1834C Furuno navigation equipment. Twin 16,000 BTU air-conditioners, to combat the intense heat, powered by an ONAN 6.5Kw marine generator.

The boat can perform in shallow draft conditions and is able to maneuver in tight harbors. It is capable of operating in inclement sea conditions, including driving rain and dense fog.

MetalCraft Marine has been designing and building high-speed aluminum Fire/Rescue, Patrol and Workboats since 1987.

We've just uploaded some recent photos of the FireStorm 69 fireboat that's currently under construction for the City of Tampa. You can view them on our Flickr pages.

Here's what the vessel will look like once it's completed.

MetalCraft Marine Inc of Kingston Ontario and Clayton New York just rolled out the latest version of their award winning Firestorm line of fireboats.

The new FireStorm 69 will be the fastest fireboat in the world.

It will be able to pump over 10,000 GPM class.

On their way to an emergency call the 100,000 lb hull will top out at 40 Miles per hour. Its super low draft (28") at speed with quad Hamilton jet drives will permit the Tampa Fire Rescue teams to cross shallow areas cutting off miles of travel.

Tampa's new vessel will be delivered by water from Kingston to Florida down the Eastern Seaboard June of 2009. The presence of the craft and its state of the art systems will make the port of Tampa one of the safest in the United States. All thanks to an UASI grant from DHS.

MetalCraft Marine has just been awarded a $5.8 Million contract for the Panama Canal Authority that is based on the same hull platform. There are several other Departments in line waiting to also own a FireStorm 69.

Pictured here is MetalCraft's very first boat (Hull#1) built in 1988 with Tampa Fire Rescue's Firestorm-69 (Hull #503).

Southern Marin County's MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 30, named Liberty, is shown in this photo essay assisting in an impressive fire on Angel Island , in San Francisco Bay.

Here's an interesting on-line article , with a 2:30 minute news video, about Miami-Dade firefighters battling a series of freighter fires over the past few months.

Miami-Dade County has two MetalCraft Marine vessels at its disposal for on-water interventions like this.

We've just posted some new photos of Bridgeport, CT's new and recently delivered FireBrand 28 fireboat.

We've just updated our online photo library with images of a newly built Kingfisher 29 Patrol Boat

This particular vessel was built in Clayton, NY, at MetalCraft Marine U.S. for the Jefferson County Sheriff.

The East Islip Volunteer Fire Department on Long Island recently used their MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 30 with Outboards to respond to a boat which hit the Robert Moses Causeway .

After a 30-minute search, the boat was located.

One person was killed and the other was taken aboard the vessel for treatment. The subject was then transferred to another vessel for transport to a local hospital.

More coverage here and here and Channel-12 News video here.

Here's a news story from the Providence Journal about three new FireStorm 30 fireboats in the region that MetalCraft Marine recently delivered. There's video as well.

Here is a related story from WPRI Channel 12 Eyewitness News

Here are stories and video from Local 10 News and NBC Channel 6 News in Miami about pesky freighter fires in the Miami River last weekend whose response was greatly assisted by MetalCraft Marine vessels.

TMJ Cannel-4 in Milwaukee reports: Two Rescued After Boat Catches Fire near the South Shore Yacht Club.

See also a whole bunch of photos of the fire on Flickr including this one of Milwaukee's MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 36 taking care of business and finally bringing the spectacle to an end.

Here's an article from November 2002, originally published in BOAT/US Magazine, titled Fireboats: few & far between which helps make the case for purchasing a fireboat amid the complicating factors and conflicting priorities all fire departments face.

Here's an interesting story , with a photograph and video , of Miami-Dade's Fireboat 1 assisting over 100 firefighters at Haulover Marina at the site of the old Salty's Restaurant.

Interesting coverage from A-Channel News in Victoria, BC, about the city's new MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 30 high-speed aluminum fireboat.

Related: More details in our item from April 23 2008.