Marine 19 is a 32 feet (9.8 m) fireboat operated by the Duluth Fire Department.[1][2] She was built by Lake Assault Boats for $597,000, with three quarters of her cost being paid by a FEMA Port Security grant. As is typical of fireboats built with the help of FEMA grants, she is a multirole vessel, capable of deploying measures to deal with toxic spills, or hostile attacks that require first responders to deploy in a vehicle with a sealed air supply. As with other FEMA fireboats she is equipped with modern sensors that work at night, in fog or smoke, features also useful when deployed on search and rescue.
She was delivered on May 8, 2019, and will be commissioned on May 29, 2019.[1] She was scheduled to be delivered in August 2018, but the 2018 hurricane season triggered a shortage of suitable outboard motors.[3] The Fire Department got a $30,000 grant for training her crew during the period from the delivery to commissioning.[2]
Her top speed is 45 miles per hour (72 km/h).[3] She is capable of projecting 2,000 gallons per minute.[3][4]
Operational career edit
Marine 19 participated in a joint training exercise conducted with the Superior Fire Department, on September 27, 2019, that had been prompted by a serious fire in a grain elevator in Superior in 2018.[5]
References edit
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"Duluth takes keys to fire boat". Duluth News Tribune. 2019-05-08. Archived from the original on 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
Marine 19 was purchased with the help of a $447,750 Port Security FEMA grant, and a 25-percent match in the form of local funds totaling $149,250.
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"Duluth Fire to Unveil First Ever All-hazard Vessel". City of Duluth, Minnesota. 2019-05-08. Archived from the original on 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
Department staff have begun training on the vessel which will continue through the end of May.
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Peter Passi (2018-10-16). "Duluth Fire Department now expects spring delivery of new boat". Duluth News Tribune. Archived from the original on 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
Duluth Fire Chief Dennis Edwards said the boat will be named Marine 19 to honor the 19 firefighters who have died in the line of duty since the department's inception.
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Dave Strandberg (2019-05-14). "Fire Department Unveils All-Hazard Vessel". WDSM. Duluth. Archived from the original on 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
The craft was built at Lake Assault Boats in Superior and features thermal imaging night vision cameras, side scan sonar, radar, GPS navigation system and emergency medical equipment.
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"Superior and Duluth Fire participate in mutual aid training". KBJR. Superior, WI. 2019-09-27. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
A mock 9-1-1 call was conducted and Duluth's Marine 19 fireboat was used during the training.