A 44-foot fire-rescue boat owned by the Lewes Fire Department sank at the public dock on Broadkill River Thursday evening. It was discovered by firefighters who were summoned to the dock for a “rescue.” They learned it was their own boat.
According to the Cape Gazette, firefighters found their $900,000 boat had taken on water and spent the next nine hours trying to recover it. It’s unknown why the boat sunk, the newspaper reported.
Lewes Fire Department Public Information Officer Glenn Marshall told the paper the department had an insurance adjuster on the way to inspect the boat and try to determine what caused it to sink. He said the most important thing was one on was hurt during the incident.
Television station WGMD reported the vessel was placed in dry dock after it was salvaged during the overnight operation.
Marine 1, the largest of the department’s fleet, is a 44-foot aluminum catamaran and is 16-feet wide, the TV station reported. It is powered by twin 600-hp Cummins engines with jet drive propulsion with a 750-gpm pump, room for two patients and seating for a large crew and the operator.
Delivered in 2008, the 27,000-pound vessel covers part of the Delaware Bay and 50 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean.
