By Cindy Clayton
The Virginian-Pilot(Norfolk, VA.)
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Fire-Rescue’s sleek new boat is a far cry from its predecessor.
For starters, unlike the Vulcan, which was decommissioned in 1941, there’s no smokestack.
Vulcan II has twin outboard motors capable of propelling the boat at 40 mph and an inboard pump that allows the boat to pump water as it travels, said Capt. Mike Marsala.
It has side-scanning sonar and forward-looking infrared. It has a dive door, a generator and air conditioning.
The 30-foot Argus-class boat with an all-aluminum hull arrived in Norfolk early last month and already has been used to rescue some boaters off Ocean View, Marsala said.
The $323,000 boat, built in Seattle by Northwind Marine, is tied up at Willoughby Bay Marina and will be dedicated next month.
“What this is going to allow us to do is venture out further in more adverse conditions as far as sea and wind,” Marsala said. “It will give us the larger fire flow that we didn’t have before.”
Norfolk firefighters have used other boats through the years to pluck swimmers from the bay and have not had the waterborne firefighting capability that the new boat provides.
Vulcan II can pump 3,000 gallons of water a minute, Marsala said. A smaller, 22-foot boat kept at Fire Station 1 downtown can pump only about 500 gallons a minute, he said. And that boat is kept on a trailer, which means it takes longer to respond to an emergency.
Marsala said the Vulcan II cuts 15 minutes off response time.
The boat has enough room to carry several people who need serious medical attention and can pull straight up to a dock because of its squared-off bow, he said.
The inboard motor will allow firefighters to get close to swimmers in distress without worrying about anyone being injured by the propellers of the outboard motors, he added.
The boat will allow the agency “to move to the next level of our water rescue program with our teams,” Marsala said.
Copyright 2008, The Virginian-Pilot(Norfolk, VA.)