2008 News

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December 12, 2008
Three new high-speed 30 foot aluminum CBRNE fireboats for Providence, East Providence and Cranston Fire Departments
three new high-speed 30 foot aluminum CBRNE fireboats for Providence, East Providence and Cranston Fire Departments

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 2-1/2-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.

November 27, 2008

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.

November 18, 2008
Two Kingston 36 high-speed patrol boats for the Petrotrin Oil Company in Trinidad and Tobago
Petrotrin's Kingston 36 Patrol

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.

October 16, 2008

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).

October 22, 2008

Here are photos and news articles from the Washington Post , Fox-5 News , and Channel-8 News , including video, of a search in Pohick Bay off the Potomac River for a missing police officer.

Several MetalCraft Marine-built vessels are involved in this.

October 16, 2008

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.

October 2, 2008

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.

September 4, 2008
MetalCraft Marine FireBrand 28 in Bridgeport, CT

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

August 18, 2008
Boat after collision with the Robert Moses Bridge

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.

August 8, 2008

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

July 9, 2008

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.

July 2, 2008

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.

June 23, 2008

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.

June 23, 2008

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.

June 22, 2008

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.

April 23, 2008
City of Victoria new FireStorm 30 high speed aliminum fire boat

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.

April 4, 2008

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.

March 25, 2008

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

March 13, 2008
DC Saves 17 rowers

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 .

March 11, 2008
MetalCraft Marine MLB on Global-TV

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.

March 4, 2008
Prince George MD FireStorm 36 Fireboat

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.

February 7, 2008
MetalCraft Marine's General Manager Henry Copestake is moving on.
February 4, 2008

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 .

January 10, 2008

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.

January 8, 2008

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.

47' MLB 47' MLB 47' MLB 47' MLB 47' MLB 47' MLB 47' MLB 47' MLB 47' MLB 47' MLB

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) .

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