Port of Long Beach dedicates two new fireboat stations

Back row (L to R): Long Beach City Manager Tom Modica, Port COO Dr. Noel Hacegaba, LBFD Firefighter Caleb Browneb Brown (who gave the invocation), Capt. Jake Heflin and Long Beach Fire Chief Dennis Buchanan. Fromt row (L to R): Port CEO Mario Cordero, Harbor Commissioner Sharon L. Weissman, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, Councilwoman Mary Zendejas, Harbor Commission President Bobby Olvera Jr., Commission Vice President Bonnie Lowenthal and Assistant Fire Chief Karen Rindone.

Officials dedicated two new Port of Long Beach fireboat stations March 1, enhancing the Long Beach Fire Department’s waterside and landside emergency response capabilities to better safeguard visiting ships, cargo and waterfront workers.

The facilities – Fireboat Station 15 and Fireboat Station 20 – are the products of a $109 million Port of Long Beach program to preserve business continuity, security and economic interests.

Fireboat Station 15 is a single-level, 7,750-square-foot building in the Port’s outer harbor with living quarters, a garage for two firefighting apparatus trucks and a full wharf with a 16,311-square-foot boat bay enclosure that houses fireboat Vigilance. Construction started in April 2019 and the project was completed in September 2021.

Fireboat Station 20, located in the port’s inner harbor, is a two-level, 9,783-square-foot structure equipped with living quarters, a garage for two firefighting apparatus trucks and a 16,280-square-foot boat bay enclosure that houses fireboat Protector. Construction started in March 2021 and the project was completed in December 2023.

Fireboat Protector entered service in 2016, followed a year later by its companion, Vigilance, heralding major advances in harbor firefighting and emergency response capabilities at the Port of Long Beach. The fireboats are each equipped with 10 water cannons capable of sending up to 41,000 gallons per minute to a distance of up to 600 feet, or the length of two football fields.

With an anticipated lifespan of 50 years, both stations were approved for construction in 2017 by the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners and funded by port revenues.

“These fireboat stations will provide an important and invaluable safety service to our Port,” said Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson. “Our firefighters are now equipped with the most sophisticated facilities and emergency response capabilities to protect our port, its valuable assets and our waterfront workforce.”

“This is a great day for the Port of Long Beach, as we celebrate completion of a long-needed major revamping of fire safety facilities and equipment in the harbor,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero. “Fireboat Stations 15 and 20 and our fireboats vastly improve our preparedness and resilience in the face of emergencies.”

“These new stations will have a lasting and positive impact on our ability to quickly respond to emergencies,” said Long Beach Harbor Commission President Bobby Olvera Jr. “We look forward to our continuing partnership with the Long Beach Fire Department to make the Port a safe place to work and do business.”

“Our new fire stations are state-of-the-art public safety structures that will serve as bases of operations for any incident within the port and throughout the region,” said Long Beach Fire Chief Dennis Buchanan. “Additionally, these stations have been designed with today’s workforce in mind, which means the assurance of workforce accommodations, such as separate sleeping quarters and restrooms.”