Standing beside the San Rafael Fire Department’s new 34-foot boat on Saturday, Chief Christopher Gray poured a swig of champagne into the San Francisco Bay as an offering to the “gods of the sea” before unveiling the vessel’s new name.
“We christen thee ‘Fire Boat San Rafael,’” he proclaimed in front of a crowd of firefighters at the Loch Lomond Marina, where the vessel is berthed.
The renaming ceremony for the boat that will soon serve as the fire department’s primary water rescue vessel was Gray’s rendition of an ancient maritime tradition. Superstitious sailors have long believed that changing a boat’s name without first announcing it to the likes of Poseidon and Neptune can bring on bad luck.
“It’s important to go through kind of a rite of passage,” Gray said in an interview. “I believe in honoring traditions.”
The boat, formerly known as “Liberty,” was used by the Southern Marin Fire Protection District for water rescues and firefighting for more than 15 years. That department won a federal grant last year that helped pay for a new boat, and its old vessel was sold for $125,000 to the San Rafael Fire Foundation, which donated it to the city’s fire department.
It’s a major upgrade from San Rafael’s former fire boat, “Confidence,” said Battalion Chief Jason Hatfield, who serves at the helm of the department’s fledgling marine response program. The San Rafael Fire Foundation bought the 27-foot “Confidence” for the department in 2016 from a fire department in Washington and, for the first time in decades, San Rafael firefighters’ ability to respond to emergencies on the water was greatly improved.
“We have almost 20 miles of coastline in San Rafael, and there’s a lot of recreational stuff going on out on the water,” Hatfield said. “But our capabilities at that time were really nothing. We had a lifejacket on our engine, and we had calls when firefighters in their normal uniform would throw on a lifejacket and jump into the water.”
The department once had an extensive water rescue program, but that was phased out during the 1970s, according to Hatfield.
In the three years since the department began using a fire boat again, nearly a dozen firefighters have been trained as boat operators. They respond to emergencies such as sinking vessels, medical emergencies on the water and fires on boats.
“The boat allows us to get there quickly and initiate care immediately,” Hatfield said.
With “Fire Boat San Rafael,” the department’s response capability is greater, according to Hatfield. The boat has a twin jet drive and can travel at a maximum speed of 33 knots. There are fire hoses on board and several turrets, which suck up water from below and spray it out in powerful streams to help battle fires. The vessel also has a large, enclosed cabin, which “Confidence” did not. That will help keep firefighters dry during harsh weather, Hatfield said.
“The days we really need to be able to operate are the bad days,” he said, “when it’s rough out there.”
A handful of San Rafael firefighters are undergoing training to become rescue swimmers, which will further expand the department’s response capabilities, Hatfield said.
Once San Rafael’s boat operators learn the ropes on “Fire Boat San Rafael,” the department plans to sell “Confidence” for a nominal price to the Berkeley Fire Department, which is planning to launch its own marine response program, officials said.
“We’re keeping it in the bay and in the operational area and helping out a neighboring fire department,” Hatfield said.
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