June 11--SANDWICH -- It's been nearly two years since the Sandwich Fire Department was awarded a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for a fire boat, and on Wednesday its ship came in.
The custom-made catamaran, with twin diesel jet-propulsion engines, was built by Moose Boats in California at a cost of $760,000, Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Corriveau said. The remaining $140,000 will be used to pay for firefighter training, he said, which will include two weeks of classroom instruction by the U.S. Coast Guard.
On Monday, eight firefighters received training from a representative of the manufacturer -- training that was given to other firefighters Thursday and Friday as well. Once they went over the particulars of the boat, the firefighters took it out for a spin through the east end of the Cape Cod Canal and circled around in front of Town Neck Beach, sending water gushing into the air from the deck guns.
The shiny red boat is equipped with deck guns capable of pumping 2,500 gallons of seawater per minute and spraying at distance of as much as 200 feet.
It was delivered cross-country by truck in a trip that took more than two weeks. On Wednesday, it splashed into the water for the first time in Marion -- to avoid the wide-load truck having to navigate the Bourne or Sagamore bridges -- and went across Buzzards Bay to its new home at a slip next to the U.S. Coast Guard at Sandwich Marina.
The fire boat has another deck gun that can spray water or, if necessary, foam from a 50-gallon storage container, useful for finishing off fuel or fiberglass fires, Corriveau said.
Among the bells and whistles is an infrared camera capable of detecting someone in the water up to a half-mile away. It also is equipped with two global positioning systems and side-scanning sonar that can detect obstructions or something in the water for 150 feet in both directions, Corriveau said.
"We're really happy with the way it came out," Corriveau said.
The boat is not without controversy. A $30 million public safety complex was recently rejected by voters, despite the need for upgraded buildings for the fire and police departments in town.
Robert Simmons, who writes a blog called notthepta.org that typically targets the schools in town, has criticized the boat as a duplication of public safety crafts already located at the marina. They include two Coast Guard boats, canal patrol boats and a state environmental police boat.
"I think the fire department does a great job -- they've been to my house a couple of times -- but I don't like the idea of them racing around in a boat when they could be somewhere else," Simmons said. "They don't need to be spread any thinner."
Sandwich now has the largest fire boat on Cape Cod. Hyannis has a 27-foot boat, Fire Chief George Russell said.
The Sandwich Fire Department boat is the only emergency boat located in the Sandwich Marina that has firefighting capabilities, Russell said. That's important because the canal is widely used for commercial vessels, including oil tankers, he said. The Sandwich fishing fleet is also located at the marina.
"It's a major industry and we're here to protect it," Russell said.
Sandwich was one of the last departments to receive the grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security without a 25 percent match, Corriveau said.
"They're not easy to get," he said of the grant. "This will be quite an asset for the north side of the Cape."
The department is seeking an additional $25,000 grant for future training, Russell said. For now, the boat won't add anything to the department's bottom line because it's being operated using existing staff, he said.
The department was recently awarded another grant -- $355,000 for air packs and wireless headsets for the department's firetrucks, Corriveau said. For that grant, the town will have to kick in a 10 percent match.
"That saves the town $300,000," Russell said.
Copyright 2013 - Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.
