Moose Boats, Vallejo/Petaluma, Calif., has been awarded a contract from the Newport Fire Department in Rhode Island for the construction of a M2-38 Catamaran CBRNE emergency response and recovery vessel.
The boat is being funded through the combination of an award from the 2016 Port Security Grant Program, municipal monies and a donation from philanthropist and Newport resident Peter D. Kiernan III. The city of Newport utilized GSA’s (General Services Administration) Schedule 84 Cooperative Purchasing clause to purchase the boat from Moose Boats’ GSA pricing schedule. FEMA’s fiscal year 2016 Port Security Grant Program provided 75% of the funds to purchase the M2-38 catamaran.
Twin Cummins 425-hp turbo diesel propulsion engines coupled to HamiltonJet waterjets will power the M2-38 aluminum catamaran. The new boat will be equipped with two completely independent fire pump systems each flowing in excess of 1,500 gpm of fire suppression water. Each fire pump is protected by a pressure relief valve and plumbed to a high volume monitor and two 2.5"-dia. valves for a combined flow exceeding 3,000 gpm. The dual fire pump arrangement with dedicated discharges provides full firefighting redundancy while simultaneously maintaining full maneuverability from both propulsion engines and jets.
External air sampling, a radiation detector and distribution of breathing apparatus air both in the cabin and on deck will allow firefighters to identify and respond to incidents of a chemical, biological or radiological nature.
The navigation and electronics suite is comprised of multifunction navigation screens, radar, 3-D side scan sonar, AIS, VHF radios, radio direction finder and thermal imaging camera. A heavy-duty push knee will enable the M2-38 to come in contact with larger vessels and piers while the combination ladder will allow for firefighters to disembark in beach landing scenarios and facilitate dive and rescue operations from the stern. Additional names of equipment manufacturers were not available.
The M2-38 will be used as the primary firefighting/search and rescue platform for Newport Harbor and the waters surrounding the city’s 36 miles of coastline, Newport Fire Department chief Peter Connerton said.
Moose Boats has constructed numerous firefighting vessels for agencies throughout the U.S. including the Richmond Fire Department, Tiburon Fire Protection District, San Francisco Fire Department and Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation and Conservation District in California, Old Saybrook Fire Department in Connecticut, Lewes Fire Department in Delaware, Anne Arundel County in Maryland, Massport Fire Rescue at Boston Logan Airport, Sandwich Fire Rescue and New Bedford Fire Department in Massachusetts, Northport Fire Department in New York, New Jersey State Police, North Kingstown Fire Rescue in Rhode Island, West Pierce Fire Rescue and Bellingham Fire in Washington.
