MetalCraft Marine

Joining their first vessel (FireStorm 50) "Jake Godbold" from MCM, Jacksonville welcomed their 2nd, a FireStorm 70. The bright red vessel matches its predecessor and will be stationed near the main port in Jacksonville, Florida.

The new vessel can hit whopping speeds of 41 knots with its 4 x CAT C-18's @1015 HP per engine & Hamilton 403 water jets. Gearing for pumps and propulsion was from ZF gear of Germany.

Also impressive are the pump numbers... it produces over 14,092 GPM at 150 PSI & 17,892 GPM @ 120 PSI with Hale quad 8 FKF pumps. The main electronic monitors is a roof mounted Stang 5500 GPM w/450 foot reach and 4 x Elkhart 2000 GPM deck monitors. The foam system can feed all discharges and has a quick change system for 55 gallon drums.

Detection equipment has been installed to detect interior and exterior CBRNE agents; the bridge is an air tight compartment which provides front line defense for the Port and City of Jacksonville.

The camera/Flir system is by Ocean View and can be interfaced with any of the 4 x 19" screens. The system has a split screen camera option which can uplink and be viewed from fire head quarters or aircraft to aid in SAR missions. The datalink system accepts aircraft cameras as well as full radio frequencies.

Ships electronics are Furuno 3-D system, communications by Motorola ICOM & Piratecom. The wireless Piratecom can interface with up to 6 radios and cell phones. For perfect audio ability the system has wind and engine filters, so that in noisy environments the operators can communicate clearly.

The $4.7 Million dollar vessel took 12 months to construct and was funded through a 2008 Port Security Grant. Hull structure is built to ABS & IACS standards.

Chief Larry Peterson and his team are excited about the new arrival, which was delivered from MCM Kingston, Ontario Canada September 2010 via Lake Ontario to the Erie barge Canal, down the Hudson and out at NYC and followed along the Eastern Seaboard. Trip took 12 days with many stops along the way. Tampa Fire/Rescue had a similar boat take the same trip a year ago.

Nine years ago, MetalCraft produced the first FireStorm and has not turned back. Each boat having a unique and personalized flavor chosen by our customers. MetalCraft has been designing and building boats since 1987.