By Lauren Gregory
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)
Copyright 2006 Chattanooga Publishing Company
It took 135 years, but the Chattanooga Fire Department finally has been able to buy what officials say is a long-awaited and much-needed fire rescue boat.
With the Tennessee River running through the heart of the city, the department has needed a boat since it was first chartered in 1871, Lt. Seth Miller said.
“We’ve been trying for years, but the budget just didn’t allow it,” he said.
The purchase of a $25,000 Vigilant Boston Whaler was made possible by a recent homeland security grant, he said.
The 27-foot boat, which boasts two 250 horsepower engines and a fire pump that can spray up to 750 gallons per minute, arrived a month ago.
Only four firefighters have been trained to use it, though training of about 20 more is set to begin Monday.
That will be enough to get the boat fully up and running by the end of the year, Lt. Miller said. A third group of responders will begin training in the spring.
Department members are excited about the expanded capabilities the boat will provide in fighting both house and boat fires, Lt. David McBurnett said.
“The number of real estate developments has grown on the riverfront,” he said. “There has been a significant increase in the (number) of houses and boats. We need to be able to protect the marinas and protect people’s investments.”
In addition, he said, the boat will protect the city’s industry, which has become more dependent on barge shipments.
“If there’s ever a barge fire,” he said, “a boat like this is vital.”
The boat can spray from as many as three nozzles at once, Lt. McBurnett said.
There is a powerful “bow monitor” at the front of the boat, which can be operated from anywhere on the vessel from remote controls firefighters wear around their necks. There also are two nozzles in the back that can be hooked to hoses. All three draw water from the Tennessee River, Lt. McBurnett said.
The vessel also carries emergency medical supplies for first-responder rescues and has a tank of foam to fight chemical fires. It uses state-of-the-art mapping and depth-perception equipment to navigate the river as quickly as possible, Lt. Miller said.
Because the local lock and dam system can tie up a boat for 40 minutes, Lt. McBurnett said, the boat will be kept on land at Fire Station 10 off Amnicola Highway until a second vessel can be purchased. That way, he said, it can be carried to either the riverfront or Chickamauga Lake, and “we can launch that boat and have it out in minutes.”