Metal Shark building two new fast fireboats for Maryland county

Image: Metal Shark

Jeanerette, La., headquartered boat builder Metal Shark is building two welded-aluminum fireboats for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department in Maryland that will have a top speed of 45 knots and a pumping volume of 8,500 gallons.

Designed by Metal Shark’s in-house engineering team and now under construction at the company’s Franklin, La., shipyard, the new 50 Defiant NXT monohull pilothouse fireboats will give the department’s maritime firefighting capability a significant boost. They will deliver faster speeds, enabling shorter response times, greater pumping volume, increasing firefighting effectiveness, and a next-generation design improving efficiency while providing greater safety for firefighters.

The fast fireboats’ next-generation enhancements include a spacious, climate-controlled pilothouse delivering best-in-class visibility. Metal Shark’s signature “pillarless glass” with reverse-raked windshield significantly reduces blind spots compared to conventional pilothouse fireboats with smaller, framed windows. A unique window arrangement, with a second tier of side windows below the beltline, provides improved downward-angle visibility, crucial while maneuvering alongside smaller vessels or during man-overboard retrieval. An overhead skylight array provides an unobstructed upward view when operating alongside ships or elevated structures, or during helicopter hoisting operations. The result is mission-enhancing visibility throughout the complete range of firefighting and rescue scenarios.

The new 50 x 16 foot fireboats will feature twin inboard diesel waterjet propulsion for maximum performance and pinpoint maneuverability. Projected top speed is in excess of 45 knots, for the fastest possible emergency-response time. At a more economical cruise 30-knot cruise speed, the vessels are expected to deliver a nominal operating range of approximately 250 nautical miles.

Designed for maximum firefighting capability and water pumping volume, the new vessels will deliver a flow rate in excess of 8,500 gallons per minute, with twin 3,000 GPM self-priming fire pumps driven via PTO from the main engines. Each pump draws from its own dedicated in-hull sea chest, feeding a central manifold with crossover capability, which in turn supplies the entire system.

From the fire control station at the port helm, flow is directed as desired via electronically-actuated 8” slow-close valves with manual backup. The vessels are each equipped with a remote-operated electric rooftop monitor, two aft-mounted monitors, two aft dual handline outlets, and two 5-inch Storz hydrant outlets. Dual 55-gallon reservoirs carry a total of 110 gallons of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) per vessel.

Metal Shark says the recently developed Defiant NXT fireboat line is bringing it significant growth in the sector.

“Over the past four years we have worked to develop our technologically advanced Defiant NXT lineup of vessels that are each designed as fireboats from the keel up; a departure from the standard industry practice of adding firefighting equipment and systems to existing multipurpose platforms,” said Dean Jones, Metal Shark’s vice president of sales for fire, law enforcement, and specialty markets. “This approach allows us to offer the capability and systems of a larger vessel in a smaller and more efficient platform that is easier to maintain. In many instances, these right-sized vessels have allowed agencies to step down to a smaller and more affordable vessel without giving up capability, which directly benefits the agency and the taxpayer.”

With the acquisition of these new, state-of-the-art fast fireboats, Anne Arundel County Fire Department joins a rapidly growing list of Metal Shark fire-rescue clients across the U.S. In a 24-month span Metal Shark will have delivered new fireboats to the Chicago Fire Department; East Chilton Fire Rescue (Alabama); Everett Fire Department (Massachusetts); Marco Island Fire Rescue, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, and Tampa Fire Department (Florida); Stafford County Fire (Virginia); St. John County Fire (South Carolina); and numerous others.

“Metal Shark is excited to build these next-generation, high-performance fireboats for Anne Arundel County Fire Department, as they will deliver the very latest advancements in fire boat design and technology,” said Metal Shark CEO Chris Allard. “With these new purpose-built vessels, crews will be able to respond faster, cover more distance, and do their jobs more efficiently and safely. This is a big win for the department and the communities it protects and serves.”