Fire Safety: Long Beach
Long Beach: Port Moves Ahead with Fireboat Stations for Big Ship Era
`The Long Beach Harbor Commission took an important step forward in upgrading firefighting resources in the Port of Long Beach with its approval earlier this month of engineering design services for Fireboat Stations Nos. 15 and 20.
The commissioners also approved a baseline project budget of $50.1 million for the first station to be built, Fireboat Station No. 15. Station 15 will be located on the Main Channel and is scheduled to be completed in 2020. Fireboat Station No. 20, with an estimated budget of $51.6 million, will be located in the port’s Inner Harbor. It is scheduled to be completed in 2021.
"These fireboat stations will safeguard the port and our customers in this new era of big ships," said Port Executive Director Mario Cordero. "They will provide the best waterside response possible, maximize landside firefighting coverage and serve as a home for our new, state-of-the-art fireboats. With ships more than doubling in size in the last decade and cargo traffic breaking monthly records, this is a needed upgrade to port safety."
The fireboat stations will each include living quarters, a garage for firefighting apparatus and a full waterside wharf with enclosure for the fireboat.
The facilities will be designed to attain the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Program’s (LEED) gold rating. The stations will use water-saving technology, energy-efficient appliances, natural ventilation and other features.
Later this year, the commissioners will consider putting the construction of the project out to bid.
The stations and fireboats are operated by the Long Beach Fire Department. The port – which is the Harbor Department – reimburses the Fire Department for fire protection services and supplies the equipment such as the boats and the stations.
Rendering of Fireboat Station No. 15 at the Port of Long Beach
Source: Port of Long Beach