Did You Know?

The BCFD Marine Fire Rescue has a fleet consisting of one Class A Fireboat and two Class C Fire Rescue Boats. The Class A Fireboat has 2 FFS Fire Pumps each one capable of providing 3500 gallons per minute of water with a crew of 4 or 5. The Fire Rescue boats are equipped with a Marine Power / Hale fire pump capable of providing 1500 gallons of water per minute; each has a crew of 2.

FIRE BOAT 1 

• Firefighting equipment and resources for fires reported on vessels at terminals or in the stream (at anchor or underway).
• Pumping capabilities for large capacity water flow by either master streams or hose lays to land-based fires along the waterfront.
• Pumping capabilities for large-scale foam operations by master streams, relay or hand lines.
• Search and rescue capability offshore in the event of a marine accident, capsizing or sinking of a vessel.
• Transport for land-based personnel and equipment to incidents in the stream (at anchor or underway).
• Provide a base of operations for incidents offshore; such as hazardous materials incidents, illegal discharges into the harbor, body recovery, etc.
• Provide equipment and manpower for large-scale de-watering operations.
• Standby service during special Harbor events.
• Assistance with the containment of hazardous materials spills.
• Mutual aid to jurisdictions currently covered by agreements.

FIRE RESCUE BOATS

In addition to the above the Fire Rescue Boats provide:

• Shallow draft search and rescue capability offshore in the event of a marine accident, capsizing or sinking of vessels in areas not accessible to Fireboat 1.
• Shallow draft firefighting capabilities along the waterfront in areas not accessible to Fireboat 1.
• Close quarters and mobile firefighting capability to supplement operations of Fireboat 1.
• Fast response and size-up of incidents to which Fireboat 1 is responding.
• Emergency medical service for medical emergencies offshore and not accessible to land units.
• Transport for the Underwater Dive Rescue and Recovery Team and assist with search and rescue operations.
• Provide observation post to monitor conditions when environmental hazards enter the stream or offshore areas; such as hazardous materials spill incidents, biological and medical waste or illegal discharge into the harbor.

Photo taken by Charles Meile