Here is a description of an impressive Hatteras 52 yacht fire six miles off Hampton, Virginia in June 2006. MetalCraft Marine fireboats were involved in the response.

Yesterday (January 9 2007) The Kingston Whig Standard, our local newspaper, published this brief story of MetalCraft's latest fireboat making a spectacle of itself in Kingston's Inner Harbour.

Ready For Action

The Whig-Standard Local News - Tuesday, January 09, 2007 Updated @ 11:25:57 PM

A 15-metre fire & rescue boat destined for the Miami-Dade Fire Department tests its pumping system on the Cataraqui River near Metalcraft Marine, where the boat was manufactured. The vessel will be shipped next week to Florida. They expect to ship two more fire boats in the near future.

Here's a good photo of Southern Marin County FD's MetalCraft Marine Firestorm 30 pumping under the Golden Gate Bridge.

A photo of the Monterey CA Fire Department's MetalCraft Marine Firestorm 30 fireboat:

MetalCraft Marine
I N C O R P O R A T E D
347 Wellington Street Kingston, ON. K7K 6N7
www.metalcraftmarine.com
Phone - 613.542.1810
Fax - 613.542.6515

Press Release

For Immediate Release Contact: Bob Clark Office: 613.542.1810

Miami-Dade's New High-Speed 50 foot Aluminum Fire boat may be spotted on famous TV series CSI Miami!!!!!

Along the sunny coast and waterways of Miami-Dade County there will be a FireStorm 50 fireboat stationed near its main port. To date this is MetalCraft's fastest Fire/Rescue boat of its size. The vessel is no lightweight either, weighing in at 43,000 pounds and with assistance of the twin CAT C-18's with 873 HP @ 2200 RPM and 364 Hamilton jets it can hit a whopping speed of 40 knots.

With the Hale twin 3000's Miami pumps close to an impressive 7000 GPM. Which would be imperative for putting out the most extreme fires on the water or at bay. With a maneuverable workstation on board, it carries medical equipment critical for saving lives.

The FireStorm having many added features, one being its infrared system, has the unique capability of night vision, which would be key in locating a missing person in night waters.

Captain Carlos Gimenez and his team are excited about the new arrival. The bright green vessel with its large quantity of deck halogen lights can't be missed cruising Miami's shore. Day or night she could be spotted on TV's CSI Miami that is filmed in the same area. Thus being a famous boat for many reasons, but the #1 reason saving lives !!!!!!

Miami-Dade County Fire/Rescue has a saying "Always Ready, Proud to Serve" We at MetalCraft are proud to be able to achieve a small part in that. If the FS 50 saves one life it's worth every hour invested the past few months.

Four 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 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.

We've just added several testimonial letters to the website.

Henry Copestake, General Manager of MetalCraft Marine Inc, will be speaking at the Kingston Technology Council luncheon on Friday January 19, 2007 at the Harbour Restaurant at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour.

Doors open at 11:30 for registration and networking, buffet lunch at noon, and the presentation begins at 12:30.

Here's the abstract of Henry's presentation:

In 2005 the Kingston Technology Council awarded their Commercial Achievement Award to MetalCraft Marine Inc., for successfully bringing a new product to market over the prior two years. That product was MetalCraft's Firestorm line of fireboats, originally developed in 2002 in response to a need identified by the tragedy at the New York World Trade Centre in Sept 2001. MetalCraft has become a world's leading producer of high speed fireboats in the 28 ft to 50 ft range with over 30 vessels delivered or in production, for fire services from Dubai to Alaska. Henry Copestake, General Manger of MetalCraft Marine will provide an overview of the Firestorm products, the integration of technologies that are involved in high speed, jet propelled fireboats, and an overview of the Company's strategy to establish a solid foothold in their market niche.

Please pre-register by 5pm on Wednesday, January 17th. Email admin@kingstontechnology.net or call (613) 546-9387 to reserve your seat(s)

The Portsmouth Fire Department demonstrates their new Fire Boat 1 in the Piscataqua River basin Wednesday. The high speed fireoat with high voume pumping and rescue capabilities was made possible through a Homeland Security Grant Program. Photo by Rich Beauchesne

Fast, furious fireboat

PORTSMOUTH -- The newest vehicle for the Fire Department is not a truck; it is a boat.

Fire Boat 1 is the Firestorm-30 , an open-ocean and inshore high-speed fireboat with high-volume pumping and rescue capabilities. It is 33 feet, 5 inches in length and is powered by twin 380-horsepower Cummins diesel engines that drive two Hamilton water jets.

The firefighting capabilities of the boat include one master stream, two 2.5 inch discharges for hand lines, and one 5 inch discharge to supply land-based operations. The fire pump on the boat is capable of flowing more than 1,500 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.

"She can crawl sideways," said Deputy Chief Steve Achilles. "She can stop and turn on a dime. It can do collision avoidance maneuvers."

A demonstration of the boat proved the avoidance effective. It came to a dead stop and made quick, hard turns.

The $350,000 boat was fully funded by the fiscal year 2005 Homeland Security Grant Program with the support of Sens. Judd Gregg and John Sununu and Rep. Jeb Bradley, along with the Portsmouth Fire Department Fire Commission, the Portsmouth City Council and City Manager John Bohenko.

Read the whole story .

Related: See also the Portsmouth Fire Department's press release .