The Delaware City Fire Company is in the process of building a new Fire Boat to replace the one that was totaled in last spring’s accident.  She’s a Firestorm 32 manufactured by Metalcraft Marine in Kingston Ontario.  The new Fire Boat One-Five is 36’ in length, approximately 2’ longer than the other vessel.  This boat has twin 6.7L Cummins Engines, a 7.5KW Cummins Generator and a host of Navigation and Safety modifications from the old Firestorm 30.  This vessel has High Definition Short Range and Long Range Radar, twin 16” Touch Screens for Navigation and Vessel Monitoring.  The Officer Station has twin 9” Touch Screens as well as a CBRN Laptop to monitor the wireless gas detection system.  The entire vessel is “Glass” Instrumentation.  There are no analog gauges.  Every system on the vessel is monitored and recorded through the NEMA 2000 network from the Seawater Flow through the engines to the fuel level, temperature of the engines, battery temperature, oil pressure, etc.  The boat features the latest in Marine Electrical systems with the Blue Sea 360 Panels.  Both the AC and DC Circuitry is balanced through this modular electrical system.  One of the highlights of the electrical system is an Operator Blackout switch.  All of the backlighted panels, gauges, cabin lights, map lights, etc. are connected to this circuit and can be dimmed or completely shut down at the press of a button.  The deck is illuminated by four high intensity LED Scene lights capable of illuminating 37,000 square feet each.  In addition to that are two, Million Candle power search lights with controls in three locations throughout the vessel.  To top off the radar arch, is a FLIR thermal imaging camera capable of detecting a vessel 3.5 miles away in complete darkness and a person in the water 1.2 miles away.  This state-of-the-art camera also features a low light camera for dusk operations.

The vessel is approximately half way completed.  Construction began on September 8, 2014 and is expected to be completed by mid to late June 2015.