You don’t need to have a major harbor to justify a fire and rescue boat. Many landlocked departments are using boats on rivers, lakes and reservoirs.

The newest fire and rescue boats are smaller, lighter and more maneuverable, allowing them to go where more traditional boats can’t. Some are designed to navigate whitewater rapids, while others can skim over water and ice with equal ease. A few are even light enough to carry on top of an apparatus and launch manually. Some small fire boats pack a 2,000gpm punch in a vessel that’s less than 20 feet long. And all of them — whether they’re used for fire, rescue or both — are proving to be valuable assets for departments that never dreamed of operating a boat in the past.

Many departments don’t have to look very far to find a use for a boat. Do you have a marina or waterfront boat storage facility in your area? You could probably use a fire boat. Lots of hotels and vacation homes closely packed along the water’s edge? Ditto. Do thousands of recreational boaters descend on the local lake or reservoir every summer? You could probably use a rescue boat to handle the inevitable accidents. Floods common in your area? Ditto.

Some departments have found other uses for boats. Departments protecting wooded shoreline have used small fire boats to fight wildland fires that are inaccessible from land. Others have used fire boats to supply water to land-based apparatus fighting structure fires. Some departments have found they need fire boats to adequately protect newly constructed riverboat casinos and other waterfront sources of local revenue. Other departments have used boats to stabilize swamped watercraft, contain hazmat spills or drag for drowning victims.

Multipurpose platforms
Most departments and manufacturers agree that a fire department boat should provide a stable working platform capable of handling a wide variety of emergency situations. Although some boats are primarily designed to handle rescues, many can handle both fire and rescue duties.

For rescue operations, a boat should be able to carry a crew of two to five personnel and their equipment, plus any victims. Generally, a one-person crew isn’t effective for rescues. The boat should be stable and maneuverable enough to allow precise positioning in wind, waves and flowing water. To permit rapid responses, it should have an engine with enough power to give it a cruising speed of 25–50mph.

To facilitate rescues, some inflatable boats have an open hatch in the floor that allows emergency responders to rescue victims without having to pull them over the bow or side. This is especially valuable when the people in the water are too exhausted or cold to enter the boat by themselves. One rescue boat model has a flip-down underwater platform to assist dive operations and provide support for victims; some have a removable section in the side of the hull.

Other desirable rescue boat features include enough deck space to carry victims on backboards or to administer first aid and cpr. An elevating light tower or other scene lights provide night-time illumination. One manufacturer even designs rescue boats that can be connected end-to-end for dragging and recovery operations.

For firefighting operations, a boat should be able to carry a crew of two to five personnel and their equipment. Although it’s possible to operate some small fire boats with a one-person crew, it isn’t recommended from a safety standpoint. The boat should be stable and able to maneuver close enough to attack a fire on land. In many cases, this requires the ability to operate in shallow water. Just as with rescue boats, fire boats should have sufficiently powerful engines to give them rapid response times.

Most fire boats use pumps that run off of separate engines. Some draw water through suction hoses dropped over the side, while others have pre-plumbed suction inlets through the hull. Pump capacities vary from about 100gpm to 5,000gpm, depending on the size of the boat. Bow monitors with either manual or electrical controls are an option on most fire boats. One boat even uses a jet pump for propulsion with a patented diverter valve in the jet discharge to feed the monitor, eliminating the need for a separate fire pump.

Other common fire boat features include attack handlines, nozzles and ldh to supply pumpers on shore, as well as foam-injection systems that let the boat handle fires more effectively. scba and spare air bottles give the crew protection from smoke.

Small, medium, large
Fire and rescue boats come in as many sizes as there are uses and pocketbooks. As with any purchase, departments should consider what they really need when it comes time to purchase a boat.

At the small end of the scale, a boat with an inflatable hull can provide a real bargain for a department with basic needs. Some inflatables weigh only 100 to 200 pounds without the engine and cost less than $3,000. These smaller boats, usually 8 to 13 feet long, are primarily used for occasional rescues. One department suspends their inflatable from the station ceiling, directly above the first-due pumper. If they need the boat, they drop it onto the hosebed and secure it in place. An outboard motor is clamped to a bracket on the pumper tailboard.

In the 12- to 19-foot range, boats can have an inflatable hull, a combination inflatable/rigid hull or a fully rigid hull, depending on the manufacturer. Used for both fire and rescue duties, they can withstand some of the most severe service possible. In fact, many boats of this size are used as assault craft by the military. Weights range from about 250 to 2,500 pounds depending on boat length and hull construction. Prices start at about $6,000 but can reach up to $65,000 or more with optional features. For example, jet drives are popular because they allow operation in shallow water.

Over 20 feet, most boats have rigid hulls. Dual outboard or inboard/outboard engines are usually specified to give adequate power, although some boats under 30 feet have jet drives. Because boats of this size are too heavy to be manually launched, they’re either kept in the water or trailer-launched from a hard-surfaced boat ramp. These larger boats are usually specified by departments where there’s the potential for larger fires or frequent rescues.

Boats that fly
A few boats are designed to skim, slither and slide over water, ice, snow and mud with equal ease. Airboats have a flat-bottomed hull with a large engine-driven fan for propulsion, while hovercraft glide on a cushion of air. Primarily used for search and rescue operations rather than fighting fires, both designs are especially good for rescues on ice and swampy ground.

Airboats, which can be “flown” off their trailers, operate on water, ice, mud and snow. Because the propulsion system is above the boat, they can also navigate in swift or shallow water, reeds, marshes and tidal flats. Another airboat has a steering wheel and control system that offers “no-feedback” steering to simplify operator training and reduce driver errors, according to the manufacturer.

Hovercraft also have large engine-driven fans that are used for both propulsion and support. Like airboats, hovercraft can operate over water, ice, snow, mud, strong currents, sandbars and swamps. For rapid response, some designs can hit 50mph over water. One manufacturer makes a hovercraft with thrust reversers that allow it to back up or hover stationary against wind or swift water.

Departments considering a boat purchase would do well to forget about the color brochures with pictures of bikini-clad models waving from the cockpit. Fire and rescue boats are “work boats” in every sense of the term, and they should be specced to do just that.

One of the best ways to find out about boats is to talk with a few departments that own them. You can also ask each manufacturer for the names of their fire department customers.