The Rabun County Fire Services, located in the northeast corner of Georgia, has placed a 26' 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 fireboat can quickly transport water into a network of standpipes located along the shoreline — that were furnished by neighborhood homeowners’ associations – to supply lake water for ground-based firefighting operations. Moreover, its deck-mounted monitor enables the craft to conduct direct fire attack.
The fireboat is powered via twin 175 hp Mercury outboard engines and features a 1,250-gpm fire pump driven by a marinized V-6 engine. The Task Force Tips Hurricane monitor is rated at 1,250 gpm, and there are four discharge ports including one that feeds a 5" large diameter hose (LDH). Other features include a 63" hydraulically operated bow door capable of transporting ATVs, a swing-out side dive door, and a davit crane with two access points.
“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,” Capt. John Murray of the Rabun County Fire Services, said in a statement announcing the delivery. “The new fireboat has greatly improved our emergency response performance and significantly reduced our ISO rating.”
