World’s Most Advanced Fireboat Leaves MetalCraft Marine

A two-week voyage through four Great Lakes and the Mississippi River will bring to the Port of Houston Authority the first of three high-performance fireboats to replace the current fleet. The new fireboats will equip the Port Authority’s firefighting team with the most sophisticated fleet in the world.

The new Firestorm 70 is a state-of-the-art command center and high speed response vessel. Built by MetalCraft Marine, each fireboat has powerful quad diesel inboard engines to propel the vessel at a swift 45 knots top speed. The current fleet clocks in at 14 and 16 knots. Such an improvement in speed is important when providing fire protection for the 25-mile long Port of Houston. The new fireboats are very maneuverable, can make quick stops and change direction within three boat lengths.

Part firehouse, part fireboat, the vessel enables the crew to stay on station for extended periods. The cabin includes a primary care berth with four secondary berths in the cuddy. Portable berths can be positioned in the aft equipment cabin to handle the injured at an incident.

Four firefighting pumps can produce flow meter results of 13,600 gallons per minute (GPM) at 150 pounds per square inch (PSI) and 17,000 GPM at 130 PSI and stream up to 450 feet with a roof mounted Stang monitor. This is three times the discharge rate of any of the current Port Authority fireboats. As a shore hydrant, the FireStorm 70 can pump an impressive 7,000 GPM at 70 PSI through 1000 feet of hose from a 5” Storz outlet before staging pumps are required.

Each fireboat is 70’10” long with a breadth of 22’10” and a draft of 34 inches. Funds for these vessels come mostly from federal grants to replace the three aging fireboats commissioned in 1973 and 1983.

“The entire MetalCraft team is honored to have been given this contract by the Port of Houston Authority,” said Michael Allen, General Manager of MetalCraft Marine. “Under the guidance of Project Manager Jay Milner and Design Manager Ryan Hunter, our team of craftsmen put in over 20,000 hours to build this industry leading fast response Firestorm 70. During the build process, we worked closely with many people from the Port of Houston Authority and got to know them well. It is obvious that they take great pride in their very important roles and we are proud to be building our most well equipped Firestorm for them. Our goal is to provide the perfect boat for each of our customers, and we hope the Port of Houston Authority feels we have succeeded.”

MetalCraft Marine is a fully integrated designer and manufacturer of custom high performance fire, rescue, patrol, research, and other specialized work boats. The business was established in 1987 and MetalCraft Marine is now a leader in the design and manufacturing of aluminum water-jet propelled craft with over 550 hulls built to date. The firm’s customers include the US Coast Guard, US Navy, and Panama Canal Authority.

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Press Release, May 23, 2013