MetalCraft Marine

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.

Beautiful Victoria BC has a new addition to their life-saving team. A canary yellow FireStorm 30 stationed near the main Port. Chief Doug Angrove and his team are excited about the new arrival.

Twin Cummins QSB 5.9 L diesel engines paired with Hamilton 274 jets power the 30-foot vessel; the boat can reach speeds of 44 MPH.

The firefighting capabilities of the boat include

• one roof mounted, remote master stream monitor,
• two 2.5-inch discharges for hand lines, and
• one 5-inch storz discharge to supply land-based operations.
• The Darley 1750 fire pump is capable of flowing more than 2300 gallons per minute.

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

We have lots of pictures of Victoria's new FireStorm 30 fire and rescue boat on Flickr.

Incidentally, the fine crew here at MetalCraft Marine is about to start building our 40th Fire/Rescue boat, Hull #503.

Here's a roundup of some blanket coverage of a recent Miami Beach marina fire that saw two teenagers trapped in a burning hull.

* 2 Trapped In Boat's Hull During Fire, Channel-10 News in Miami .

* Video from CBS News Channel-4 .

* A text account from The Miami Herald .

* Observations from some neighbors with next-morning photos on a www.yachtforums.com

* View three separate short amateur videos that show the raging fire.

Check out this amazing photo of Miami-Dade's MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 50 planing and escorted by a friend.

Two 8-man rowing shells and a coach-boat on the Potomac River on March 1st.

In all 17 people were rescued from the water.

The vessel used here is a MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 30 powered with a Cummins diesel inboard engine and propelled by Hamilton Jets .

A new TV series on Global-TV titled The Guard features a 47-foot MetalCraft Marine search and rescue motor life boat (MLB).

Here's a link to Global-TV's web page about the vessel and here is more information about the 47 foot Aluminum Motor Life Boat Project including a short video of some vessel testing here in Kingston.

Also, don't miss our 47' Search and Rescue MLB photo set hosted on Flickr.com.

The Potomac River welcomes its 4th MetalCraft vessel; National Harbor will be home of the new FireStorm 36 for PG County.

The 36 footer is outfitted with powerful Cummins 490 HP Diesels which can get them anywhere at the high-speed of 43 MPH. Hamilton's 292 Jets make precise, controlled maneuvers such as crabbing the boat along side another vessel or a dock.

The bigger platform proves to be an asset when unloading passengers quickly from a distressed vessel.

With the Darley 1750 GPM pump , PG County pumps close to 2500 GPM. Which is imperative for putting out the most extreme fires on the water or along the shore. The boat also carries medical equipment critical for saving lives.

Major Eaby and his team are excited about the new arrival. From Annapolis to Portsmouth, VA the Chesapeake Bay has six other MetalCraft Marine vessels ready to assist their neighboring counties and the Nation's Capitol in emergency situations.

Six years ago MetalCraft produced the first FireStorm and has not looked back. Each boat is adapted to unique conditions required by our customers. We have been designing and building boats, both power and sail, since 1978 and stand behind our 10-year hull warrenty.

Last year a MetalCraft Marine CBRNE FireStorm Custom 50 was featured in an episode of Go Deep, an educational documentary about how the Seattle Fire Department procured two new fireboats for timely tactical response for the large industrial Port of Seattle, Lake Union, Lake Washington, Puget Sound, and beyond.

Here's a 13-minute segment taken from the 48-minute episode. It's all about what it takes to design, build, staff, and operate a distributed fire and disaster response capability over diverse populated and industrial areas.

If you are reading this in a news feed reader, click here to view the video .

Our 2008 Kingston Marina prices are now online. Slip fees are up slightly, now $44.00 per foot for the summer season.

All our other marina-related prices are unchanged from last year.

Jack Hochadel, Vice President of Willard Marine in Anaheim, California, just sent us these amazing photographs of a 47' motor life boat, made by Textron Marine & Land Systems , going through a large crashing wave in Morro Bay, California.

Click for larger sizes.

Quoting the photographer:

15-20 foot swells from a large storm reached Morro Bay California on December 4, 2007. A U.S. Coast Guard 47-foot Motor Life Boat was out for practice maneuvers in the large surf, which is not unusual.

However, a large wave hit that was probably more than they bargained for. At least it's the hardest I've ever seen them get hit.

The air was filled with mist, and they were quite distant, so at times were just a shadow in the mist. I've adjusted the photos for better visibility, however the quality of the photos is not the greatest due to the above conditions, and futile attempts to keep the lens dry.

This is the same boat model built by MetalCraft Marine for the Canadian Coast Guard, when we delivered seven of them in 2003. The boat is structurally designed to withstand Sea State 8 and is self-righting.

Here's a link to Textron's 47' MLB Data Sheet (PDF) .

Here's a recent photo of two new fireboats soon to be delivered to the Dubai Fire Services in the United Arab Emirates.

On the left is a new FireStorm 48 and, on the right, a new FireStorm 34 fireboat.

The boats and Fire Rescue duties will be handled by the Dubai Civil Defence Force, which operates a marine unit currently. These will be the first purpose built fireboats in their fleet as well as the first jetboats.

The boats are fitted with Hamilton 364 and 241 waterjets and Cummins diesels .

The Dubai Civil Defence staff were here in Kingston at the end of November conducting sea trials. Unfortunately there was no snow for them at that time.

On page 1 of today's Miami-Herald: High-tech fireboats patrol S. Florida , an impressive story about Fireboat 1, a MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 50, with a mention of it's the new FireStorm 36 we just delivered.

On November 9th 2007, Part of an 89-car freight train carrying coal left the tracks on a bridge over the Anacostia River near RFK Stadium.

Shown here is the District of Columbia Fire Department's MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 30 responding to the scene. Full story here

Joining their first vessel (FireStorm 50) "FireBoat 1" from MetalCraft Marine, Miami-Dade County welcomed a second MetalCraft Marine vessel, a FireStorm 36. The bright green vessel matches its predecessor, and will be stationed near the main port in Miami.

The vessel can hit speeds of 39.4 knots with assistance from twin Cummins, 8.3 L 540 HP and 322 Hamilton jets.

With the Darley twin 1750s, Miami pumps to a total flow of 4871 GPM. A few features the new boat also has X500XP thermal camera, Fire Research Pump Boss pressure governor with 3 electric monitors and a 70 gallon foam tank.

Chief Lorenzo Herminio and his team are excited about the new arrival, which was delivered on November 1st from MCM Kingston, Ontario.

Five years ago, MetalCraft produced the first FireStorm and has not turned back. Each boat having a unique and personalized flavor chosen by our customers. MCM has been designing and building boats, both power and sail, since 1987 and stands behind their 10-year hull warranty.

We have no video photos yet, but here's an account:

2100 hrs on Friday 11/2/07 the ocean going tug Enterprise (179') towing a 400' fuel barge ran over its tow line fouling her starboard prop. This occurred 3 miles off of Key Biscayne. The tow line was pulling the tugs prop shaft out letting water into the engine room, if this wasn't bad enough the tug and barge where both dead in the water and drifting into shore (Key Biscayne).

The Capt of the tug had gathered his crew in the galley and they were minutes away from abandoning ship. Sea conditions were 7' to 8' with a northeast wind 25 to 30 knots.

Fireboat I arrived first on scene Coast guard arrived 20 minutes latter and stood by. The Tug was requesting a helo to hoist a crew member off of the Tug and onto the Barge to attempt to drop an anchor. Coast Guard was not in a position to do that.

Fireboat I positioned itself between the fuel barge and the Enterprise and powered into a bow in approach to the tug, timing the roll we were able to transfer a Tug crew member onboard Fireboat I and transfer him onto the Oil barge. The crew member was able to drop the barge's anchor and make it stick.

By the time it was over the barge was in 30' of water and less than a mile off of Cape Florida. Can you imagine a 400' oil barge hitting the reef off of Key Biscayne?

60 foot motor yacht sank at mouth of Miami River Saturday November 3rd.

Miami Dade County Fire/Rescue was out completing acceptance trials on their new Firestorm 36 when a Mayday came in.

They responded with Fire boat 1 and were first on the scene. Later followed by Towboat US and Seatow. Capt. Carlos Gimenez was at ease in charge of the rescue effort, and eventually it was called off as a losing battle. If they had been notified 5 minutes earlier, the vessel could have been saved. It remained on the bottom of the river for three days until salvage operations raised it.

WAVY-TV channel-10 in Portsmouth, VA has a nice news piece titled Newport News Fire Department inducts its newest member about the BMCM Carl Brashear, their new MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 30.

The fireboat is equipped with Hamilton jets, can travel 37 knots, has a 1,500 gallon-per-minute pump that can flow up to 2,400 gallons-per-minute. Water streams can be delivered from two aft mounted manual monitors and a roof mounted remote control monitor. The lower side decks also provide easy access to small fish boats in distress and make an excellent dive platform. It can travel in waters as shallow as one-and-a-half feet.

The vessel is also equipped with Side Scan Sonar which can draw a picture of what is on the river or ocean floor and transmit those pictures back to crew members onboard. It's also equipped with a thermal imaging system so that victims and boats can be located even in the craziest of weather conditions.

Update: Here's a very nice video describing the BMCM Carl Brashear and its capabilities, from Hampton Roads TV.

Update: Here are some photos from the dedication ceremony.

Update: A report from WVEC-TV of Newport News: Fire boat named after Hampton Roads hero

MetalCraft Marine and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue salute the outstanding service recently received from Pantropic Power, Inc. of Miami for Caterpillar engine work on Miami-Dade County's Firestorm 50 Aluminum Fireboat.

Thanks gentlemen!

We just received this report from Hampton, VA:

On Saturday Sept 29 a 48 foot ocean yacht ran full steam into a rock pile that was an old lighthouse.

Hampton Fire Marine 5 (MetalCraft hull 446) and Fire Marine 2 responded. It was around 9 p.m. when station 5 heard the mayday call while monitoring the VHF radio. Sea state was 3 to 4 foot with a sustained wind of 15 knots. Fire Marine 5 held on station and rescued 6 people and one K-9 using rescue lines techniques.

The recovery of the victims was done within 15 feet of the rock pile in the pounding surf. Each victim was rescued and pulled through the dive / personnel recovery door.

During the rescue Fire Marine 5 kept 6 or more inches of water on deck but never faltered in maneuverability or stability. The vessel again performed superbly and assisted in the rescue and saving of 6 souls and 1 pooch. In addition it provided a safe platform for the rescuers.

This is just another example of the professionalism of the Hampton Division of Fire and Rescue Marine Emergency Response Unit operating on a MetalCraft Marine vessel.

Stop by our Open House

Friday October 5 2007

from 1PM - 4PM

Take a tour of our latest and greatest projects.

See you there!!!!

"Atlantic VI" made a 1660-mile voyage (800 miles in open Ocean) from MetalCraft's shop in Kingston, Ontario to Wilmington, NC last month. The 6-1/2 day journey was the longest water delivery made by MCM. The boat is powered by twin CAT C-18's 885 HP @ 2200 RPM and 364 Hamilton jets, and is capable of speeds of up to 40 knots.

With the Hale twin 3000's, Wilmington pumps close to an impressive 7000 GPM. Atlantic VI has the latest technology in foam control and distribution with its 8-position/8-panel Foam System by FoamPro Accumax. It carries 500 gallons of foam aboard and has 16 dischargers with 4 x 5" landline connections.

Assistant Chief Ron Jordan and his team are very excited about the new arrival, which was commissioned July 23rd.

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.

For more information please contact Bob Clark or Emily Roantree at MetalCraft Marine Inc. 800.410.8464 or visit us at www.metalcraftmarine.com.

Chief Dave Layman and his team are excited for the return of their fireboat that was partially submerged at the dock back in April/07. The "BMCM Carl Brashear" is ready to go into service for the Newport News Fire Department in Virginia.

The vessel has been fully equipped with new engines, generator, pumping components and a couple of system upgrades, including a bilge alarm monitoring system. The 30 foot vessel is powered by twin Cummins QSB 5.9 L diesel engines paired with Hamilton 274 jets; the boat reaches speeds of 44 MPH.

The firefighting capabilities of the boat include one roof mounted master stream monitor, two 2-1/2-inch discharges for hand lines, and one 5-inch storz discharge to supply land-based operations. The Darley 1750 GPM fire pump is capable of flowing more than 2300 gallons per minute.

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

MetalCraft Marine has been designing and building boats, both power and sail, since 1978 and stands behind their 10-year hull warrenty.

For more information please contact Bob Clark or Emily Roantree at MetalCraft Marine Inc. 800.410.8464 or visit us at www.metalcraftmarine.com.

Note its visibility, and its ability to quickly stop, turn on a dime, and crab sideways.

The Firestorm 30 Fire boat, "BMCM Carl Brashear", is ready to go into service for the Newport News Fire Department in Virginia. Here's our press release.

This is the boat that partially sank on March 21st 2007 with a flooded engine room.

The video was recorded by patrons at a beachfront bar named Zelda's on the Beach so beware that some of the comments and reactions in the audio track may not be work-safe.

It's always amazing to see how quickly vessels on fire can become fully involved.

This is the same incident we covered in this news item from last week.

"The big news is that the FLIR system was responsible for finding the victims," said Greenwood Fire Chief Randy Kladivo, who along with his sons Adam and T.J. responded to the call of a boat crash just outside of Everett Bay in the early morning hours last Sunday.

It was a dark and foggy night.

Here, from May 24th 2007, is more news about Greenwood's new fireboat.

Read the report from the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

On July 23rd, The Fire Department of Wilmington, NC dedicated its new MetalCraft Marine Firestorm 50 fireboat.

From the Clayton Fire Department :

LAKE ONTARIO, July 13 - Twenty-six cadets and six crew members from HMCS Ontario aboard the tall ship the Fair Jeanne were stranded at about 4:30 p.m. Friday just off Duck Island in Canadian waters of Lake Ontario after fire broke out in the an engine room, according to officials. The U.S. Coast Guard, the Canadian Coast Guard, the Clayton Fire Department, the Wellesley Island Fire Department and the U.S. Border Patrol responded to the scene.

EVENT DATE: 15 JUL 2007 1100 Local
Location: St Julian's Creek - Chesapeake

Mishap: Sail Boat & Overhead Power Line make contact. Sail Boat fully engulfed and Portsmouth Fire Marine 1 responded and took care of business in short order.

Here's a report (Powerpoint presentation).

Lots more photos here, with many thanks to Vice Captain Ricky Dunnington.

Chesapeake residents concerned about power lines on St. Julian's Creek from WAVY Channel 10 (with video).

MetalCraft Marine is featured in a front page news story today in the Kingston Whig Standard.

"The truth of the matter is there is no one doing it better right now than MetalCraft."

That's a quote from one of our customers.

Here are photos of the Fairfax VA Fire department's FireStorm 36 and yellow fireboats (FireStorm 36 and FireStorm 27) from the Occoquan Woodbridge Lorton Volunteer Fire Department, Lorton VA, responding to a boat fire.

See more photos of MetalCraft Marine fireboats in action.

FOX News 6 in Milwaukee reports on Sunday, June 24th that their new MetalCraft Marine FireStorm 36 made its first rescue on Lake Michigan while still on delivery to its new home in Milwaukee.

Lake Michigan and surrounding waterways has a new Bright Red FireStorm 36 stationed near its main port. The vessel can hit speeds of 39.4 knots with assistance from twin Cummins, 8.3 L 540 HP and 322 Hamilton jets.

With the Darley twin 1750s, Milwaukee pumps a total flow of 4871 GPM. A great feature the new boat has is the advanced Thermal Vision Side Scan Sonar Technology by Marine Sonic side scan and a Night Vision Technologies Infrared Camera. Which is very helpful when on a water-rescue with severe visibility and bridge security.

Chief Darrel Moore and his team are excited about the new arrival, which is being delivered by water this month.

Five years ago, MetalCraft produced the first FireStorm and has not turned back. Each boat has 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 warrenty.

For more information please contact Bob Clark or Emily Roantree at MetalCraft Marine Inc. 800.410.8464 or visit us at www.metalcraftmarine.com.

The Fire Department also has a web page with six pictures of their new fireboat .

We agree with the voice off-camera: it's a very pretty boat!

MetalCraft Marine Inc. has signed contracts for three more of its high speed fireboats, worth $1.8M USD. This comes on the heels of a record year for the company.

The City of Miami has followed the lead of its neighboring Miami-Dade County FD, who just received a Firestorm 50, and has ordered a Firestorm 48. Between the two boats they will have massive pumping capability should there be a shore side fire or one aboard ship as the Port of Miami is an extremely busy port. Miami is the largest passenger terminal for cruise liners in the US. Both boats are fully equipped with medical equipment and Emergency Medical Technicians to handle virtually any emergency. Department of Homeland Security funding contributed to the purchase by the City of Miami.

The County of Prince Georges MD a suburb of Washington DC has ordered a Firestorm 36. This boat will vastly expand the department's waterborne fleet. It has an extensive night vision system to support security efforts on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge which is a major link to DC traffic serving interstate 95 to Richmond. It is also capable of charging the bridge's 1.5 mile long firemain system in a matter of minutes from a pipe connection under the bridge. This boat brings the number of MetalCraft fireboats in the DC area to seven in total.

The Town of Newburgh MD has purchased a new model fireboat from MetalCraft, as MCM is now entering the small fire/rescue boat market. It is called the Fire/Rescue 29. This new trailerable design still offers pumping capability of up to 1500 GPM and many rescue features like twin dive/rescue doors. Powered with large outboards it can run up to 55 MPH. The Fire/Rescue 29 boat will get a lot of attention when she is delivered later this summer. Newburgh is located on the lower Potomac River by the Route 301 bridge.

After the boat was raised, I inspected the engine room and found no physical damage or hull openings that would cause the boat to sink. However, the engine room bilge pumps were off when the boat was raised. All suspect items such as exhaust hoses, hull penetrations, scuppers and check valves seemed to be in good condition and functioning properly. No leaks were detected.

I spent approximately 30 minutes on the boat after it was raised. There was no evidence of water intrusion during this period.

Read the whole thing.

See also:

• Metalcraft Firestorm 30 Fireboat floods and partially sinks at Newport News, VA
• Newport News' Firestorm 30 is back at MetalCraft Marine.

Also from CBS-4: MDFR Commissions New Fireboat :

The fireboat will serve over two million residents, 84 miles of oceanside coastline, 22 miles of beaches, 67 miles of inland waterways, and 5.5 miles of the Miami River commercial waterway.

They refer to it as their "Small Fireboat" but, of course, that's relative to their 108-foot "Large Fireboat" . MetalCraft Marine makes a full line of fireboats from 27 to 50 feet.

The City of Seattle also has a page of photos of its progress through construction , taken beween January and June 2006. Check it out.

The Florida Times Union website has some great action photos of their new MetalCraft Marine fireboat, the Jake M Godbold. Click to go to their online photo album .

About this boat, Firehouse.com reports that the New Florida Fireboat Makes Splash

Jacksonville Fire Rescue's biggest, fastest and newest fireboat made a splash on the St. Johns River on Friday as it showed off what it can do.

The 1,700-horsepower, jet-propelled fireboat is named for Jacksonville's former mayor, Jake Godbold, who recently got a firsthand look at his namesake boat.

...

"Jake means a lot to the history of this fire department. He brought this fire department to one of the top fire departments in the nation, so the only reasonable thing to do was to honor him with his name on this boat," said Chief Larry Peterson.

The Godbold is 50 feet long, weighs more than 50,000 pounds, spouts out more than 6,500 gallons of water a minute and is equipped with a night vision camera. "You can literally pick up anything in the water. Not to mention the bridges and everything else, but you literally can pick up a body," Peterson said.

Newell Whitehead, Chief of Portsmouth Fire Rescue and Emergency Services, reports:

Last night our boat (FireStorm 47) was able to keep a 65 feet motor yacht from sinking by using the dewatering device that we had built into our boat. It works really well. They pumped out over 1500 gallons of water from that yacht.

Portsmouth, VA, is just across the river from Newport News, VA.

Here's a video of the Alton IL fire department responding to a runaway dock on the Mississippi river.

Click to play.

Newport News' FireStorm 30 Fireboat, the BMCM Carl M. Brashear, is back in our boatyard for inspection and repairs. This is the vessel that partially sank early in the morning on March 21st while docked at the Leeward Marina in Newport News VA.

Here's our Press Release about this.

See also coverage from various sources:

WVEC-TV , an ABC News affiliate in Norfolk, VA.

NN's new fireboat sinks at DailyPress.com

Fireboat being evaluated by N.N. fire department partially sinks at WAVY.com.

Fireboat Sinks Before Department Takes Ownership at NBC4.com.

More news to come as we await information about how this happened.

Here are photos of the MetalCraft Marine Firestorm 30 "John Foster" in action extinguishing a 30' catamaran hull charter boat "Chase 'N Tail" which exploded and caught fire at the Seward, Alaska fuel pier in August 2006. Thanks to Walter E. Corrigan, Jr., firefighter and chaplain of the Seward Fire Department, for forwarding these pictures to us.