MetalCraft Marine

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.

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.