Emergency Preparedness: Long Beach
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Long Beach Dedicates Advanced Fireboat
A new fireboat was officially welcomed into service June 8 at the Port of Long Beach.
In a dockside ceremony attended by 100 invited guests, the fireboat named "Protector" was dedicated in memory of Donald Domenic DiMarzo, a former Long Beach Fire Department captain. Mr. DiMarzo served as a fire marshal aboard the USS Intrepid in the Pacific during World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service for leading efforts to save the aircraft carrier after an attack that set it ablaze on November 25, 1944.
Protector and a second, still-under-construction boat, "Vigilance," will replace the fireboats "Challenger" and "Liberty," which began service in the late 1980s and were designed in an era of vessels carrying 4,500 containers. The biggest vessels calling in Long Beach now have a capacity of 18,000 containers, with even larger ships expected in the future.
Protector is equipped with 10 water cannons capable of extinguishing fires in the harbor or on nearby land with more than 41,000 gallons per minute — four times the output of the existing fireboats. Protector can shoot water the length of two football fields, and higher than a 20-story building, meaning firefighters can throw water or foam anywhere aboard the largest container ships and oil tankers.
The multi-mission fireboats can also assist with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats. Other features include facilities for medical treatment, a command information center, boom deployment to contain spills and an onboard crane.
The $51.6 million construction cost for the two boats was financed by an $18.5 million federal port security grant, with the port paying the balance.
Delivery of the Vigilance is expected in mid-2017. Both boats will be operated by the Long Beach Fire Department.
"These new fireboats are specifically designed for the Big Ship Era," said Port of Long Beach CEO Jon Slangerup. "They’re amazing, state-of-the art machines built to protect the ships of today and tomorrow."
Welcoming the new fireboat Protector to Long Beach
Photo/Port of Long Beach
A new fireboat was officially welcomed into service June 8 at the Port of Long Beach.
In a dockside ceremony attended by 100 invited guests, the fireboat named "Protector" was dedicated in memory of Donald Domenic DiMarzo, a former Long Beach Fire Department captain. Mr. DiMarzo served as a fire marshal aboard the USS Intrepid in the Pacific during World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service for leading efforts to save the aircraft carrier after an attack that set it ablaze on November 25, 1944.
Protector and a second, still-under-construction boat, "Vigilance," will replace the fireboats "Challenger" and "Liberty," which began service in the late 1980s and were designed in an era of vessels carrying 4,500 containers. The biggest vessels calling in Long Beach now have a capacity of 18,000 containers, with even larger ships expected in the future.
Protector is equipped with 10 water cannons capable of extinguishing fires in the harbor or on nearby land with more than 41,000 gallons per minute — four times the output of the existing fireboats. Protector can shoot water the length of two football fields, and higher than a 20-story building, meaning firefighters can throw water or foam anywhere aboard the largest container ships and oil tankers.
The multi-mission fireboats can also assist with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats. Other features include facilities for medical treatment, a command information center, boom deployment to contain spills and an onboard crane.
The $51.6 million construction cost for the two boats was financed by an $18.5 million federal port security grant, with the port paying the balance.
Delivery of the Vigilance is expected in mid-2017. Both boats will be operated by the Long Beach Fire Department.
"These new fireboats are specifically designed for the Big Ship Era," said Port of Long Beach CEO Jon Slangerup. "They’re amazing, state-of-the art machines built to protect the ships of today and tomorrow."
Welcoming the new fireboat Protector to Long Beach
Photo/Port of Long Beach
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