Fire Services News

On March 3, the Coast Guard published a notice that Martin Midstream Partners (MMP), a petrochemical transport and storage company, was seeking approval to modify terminal operations in Beaumont, Texas, along the Sabine-Neches Waterway. If approved, MMP would expand its liquefied hazardous gas (LHG) operations, both in volume and products. Instead of just handling ammonia the change would allow shipments of butane, propane, ethane, ethylene and propylene.Critically, MMP’s expansion would increase LHG vessel transit from 24 ships to as many as 350 per year.

These days, cost-conscious municipalities across the fruited plain, from sea to shining sea, are ordering new waterborne assets to cover their many local responsibilities. When they do, they want ‘more bang for their buck,’ combining multiple missions – and the equipment that makes it all possible – onto one hull. That’s a tall order on the typically compact patrol boat style hulls that tend to be big on performance, but short on space for equipment that can demand a significant physical footprint. One such shipbuilder stepping up to plate to deliver on a raft of promises is Gulf Coast-based Metal Shark. Significantly expanding its presence in the fireboat market with a diverse range of fireboats currently in production for multiple customers…

MetalCraft Marine (MCM), an aluminum boat manufacturer located in Kingston, Ontario, has delivered their 18th NFPA Type III Fireboat in 14 years.In 2015 the Kuwait Fire Services Directorate (KFSD) ordered their first FireStorm 50’, along with a 50’ STLC landing craft support craft. The KFSD liked the FireStorm 50’ so much, they bought Two more in 2016. The KFSD have now received their Fourth FS50.The new FS-50 has the very latest in technology available for fire fighting and search and rescue. This is the first FireStorm powered by Volvo D13 1000 HP twin diesels. It is propelled by the first Marine Jet Power 310X mixed flow waterjets installed in North America. The boat’s electronics are the latest offerings by Raymarine, the Axiom PRO Series.

The Rabun County Fire Services, located in the northeast corner of Georgia, has placed a Lake Assault Boats fireboat into service on Lake Rabun, an 835-acre reservoir with 25 miles of shoreline. The new craft provides fire suppression and emergency response services for homeowners, visitors, and Georgia Power facilities located on the lake.“The combination of hydroelectric plants and a growing number of high-end waterfront single family homes in a region susceptible to wildfires make our on-the-water emergency response capabilities a critical part of our department’s mission…

Naval Ship Management (NSM), an existing joint venture between Babcock and UGL, has been awarded the support and sustainment program for two Landing Helicopter Docks (LHDs) at the Garden Island Defence Precinct in NSW, following a competitive bidding process.The announcement made today by the Australian Minister for Defence, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, confirmed NSM was selected by the Australian Defence Force to sustain and support two LHDs and twelve LHD Landing Crafts (LLCs) for a period of 15 years.

Approximately 120 people were injured when a high-speed jetfoil heading from Macau towards Hong Kong hit an “unidentified object” last night south of Lantau Island. The injured, aged between six and 83, were sent to seven hospitals, with 87 discharged as of this morning. In addition to the five patients in critical condition, five were categorised as serious and 27 stable. Over 170 people on board the ferry lost power after colliding with an "unidentified object" in the water, according to the boat's operator, Shun Tak. The local media quoted passengers who described there being chaos after the crash. The Turbojet lost power after the accident and water began seeping in as passengers scrambled in the dark for lifejackets. "It went dark.

An annual oil spill response joint exercise, this year code-named Oilex 2013, was held on October 17 off Ha Mei Wan, Lamma Island, to test responses in combating oil pollution in Hong Kong waters. Under the Maritime Oil Spill Response Plan, the Marine Department coordinated the exercise and other government departments including the Civil Aid Service, the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Government Flying Service (GFS) and the Hong Kong Police Force participated. Several oil companies and Hong Kong Response Limited also took part in the exercise.

Resolve Fire and Salvage signed an agreement with Fire Department New York (FDNY) last week, allowing the vast resources of the FDNY to be included in Resolve’s network of first responders that are available to vessel owners and operators, under the OPA90 Salvage & Marine Firefighting (SMFF) requirements. “FDNY has an excellent marine division that already responds first to marine incidents. This agreement simply formalizes FDNY’s role in the Vessel Response Plan (VRP), as a fellow marine firefighting responder, under the OPA90 SMFF regulations.

When is a fireboat a tug? When is a tug a fireboat? The fitting of fire-fighting capacity on harbour tugs is very common, but typically those installations are limited to up to the capacity of the Class Society Fi-Fi 1 designations with a total pump capacity of 2,400 m3/hour. However when an Owner requires a major terminal support tug with significant towing and ship-handling capabilities, AND a Fire-Fighting II capability of 8,400 m3/hour, the result is an exciting combination of the best attributes of both vessel types. Robert Allan Ltd.

With the expansion of its specialized lifeboat and marine fire divisions, Viking Life-Saving Equipment now offers ship owners throughout North America a single point-of-contact for all service needs. "Considering the amount of safety equipment on board that needs to be serviced, there are advantages to choosing a company that can do it all," said Viking Americas managing director Al Osle. Helping ship owners meet new requirements, Viking can inspect, service, conduct load tests and repair all types of lifeboats, MOB/fast rescue craft and associated davits and release hooks with accompanying certification. The company also provides annual and five-year lifeboat inspections on board, as well as service of portable and fixed firefighting equipment.

Buys US hazardous material detection specialist for $75M Smiths Group is acquiring the business and assets of SensIR Technologies LLC, a manufacturer of infrared-based analysers, for a total of $75 million (£41m). The newly acquired business will add significantly to the range of technologies and equipment of Smiths Detection, one of the company's four operating divisions. "The second acquisition for Smiths Detection this year is a further step in building a technology-led business to serve the diverse detection market," commented Keith Butler-Wheelhouse, chief executive of Smiths Group. SensIR supplies analysers for the identification of potentially hazardous substances in solid and liquid form.

The rush to shore up security along all links of the transportation chain — and the multi-billion dollar budgets that go with them — have naturally brought companies out of the woodwork in what some see as a dash for cash. While the Department of Homeland Security, still relatively in its infancy, has been prudent in the award of contracts to date, the proliferation of funds seems to be loosening in the estimation of many interested parties, and companies that can exhibit a long and strong history of supplying integrated security solutions should obviously have a strategic advantage. Smiths Detection is such a company, offering a history of successfully providing security solutions to both civil and military clients, dealing from a vast product and system arsenal.

Providing representation for a variety of marine fire protection equipment Canal Fire Protection, Alarm Services & Installation and Marine Fire Protection have merged to form National and Marine Fire Services. With a combined experience of more than 35 years, the trio has expertise with the servicing of vessels on the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Seaboard both in Canada and the U.S.

Donjon Marine Co., Inc. was invited by the State Fire Marshall and the Director of the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety to participate in an exercise conducted by members of the Union and Morris County Fire Services to test and showcase the capabilities of a portable marine firefighting system known as Neptune/Iron Man. On May 26, at Donjon’s Berth 22 Port Newark Facility, Donjon loaded the Neptune/Iron Man firefighting system onto Donjon’s newly built 225 x 54 x 14-ft. deck barge, the Witte 254, along with necessary support equipment including a forklift, rigging, and matting to move the gear during the exercise. On May 27, Donjon’s tug Atlantic Salvor took the Witte 254 and associated gear into Newark Bay where the fire-fighting system was tested successfully.

The O’Brien’s Group celebrated the grand opening of a new state-of-the-art Command Post and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Slidell, La. O’Brien’s previous Command Center was destroyed when Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans area in 2005. The Command Center has been the foundation for O’Brien’s emergency response management services, which are provided to over 150 oil and gas company clients, as well as local, state and federal agencies. O’Brien’s also provides Qualified Individual (QI) and Spill Management Team (SMT) services to the shipping industry representing over 5,000 ships operating in U.S. territorial seas. Emergency calls received by O’Brien’s clients worldwide are managed from the Slidell Command Post and EOC.

President Clinton's budget transmitted to Congress includes $4.06 billion for the USACE Civil Works program. In addition the program will include $322 million in non-federal contributions and trust fund receipts. Funding in this request will be used to continue the development of the nation's water resources, the efficient operations, maintenance and management of the nation's navigation, flood damage reduction, and multiple-purpose projects, the equitable regulation of wetlands, and the restoration of important environmental resources such as the South Florida Ecosystem. The budget also begins to address some of the Corps long-term water resources infrastructure main-tenance requirements.