Lakeside to Receive Fire Boat
By Rod Schilling
Lakeside Fire Department is very excited awaiting the arrival of its newest addition, a fire boat! The boat built by MonArk, is a 1980 Model 2609J, is 26’8″ long and 9’8″ wide, and is custom built for fighting fires from the water.
A lot of Lakeside residents reside in areas that are difficult, if not impossible to reach by roads, and this boat will greatly reduce the time required to have water pumping in these areas.
Currently the nearest Fire Boat is automatically dispatched from the North Bend Fire Department, and billed to Lakeside on an hourly basis.
The fire boat, originally built for the ARMY Corp. of Engineers, was first used at Spirit Lake, Washington, after the eruption at Mt. Saint Helens. During its service at Spirit Lake, the hull was damaged and the boat was run aground to keep it from sinking.
Upon removal from the lake, the boat was offered up by the Federal Excess Property Program, and given to the Portland Fire Department. The boat was repaired and put in service at the St. Helens Fire Station on the Columbia River, where it has resided for the past 15 years.
When Portland Fire was successful in receiving a grant to replace the boat, they notified F.E.P.P. that it was ready to be returned into their system. At that point, F.E.P.P. began looking for a new home for the boat.
After more than a month of looking, the Program Manager told Portland Fire to begin preparing the boat for the General Services Administration auction. The following Sunday, the local F.E.P.P. Manager called Lakeside Fire Chief Ted Ross, asking him if he might need a fire boat.
The mandate for the F.E.P.P. program is to donate excess federal equipment to agencies that have a use for items that are no longer needed by the original agencies. Agencies that receive such items agree to maintain records of the equipment and when they no longer need the donated equipment, it is to be returned to the program for redistribution. Lakeside Fire Department currently has an F.E.P.P. boat, a 22 ft. Boston Whaler, which has been in use for nearly 3 years. That Whaler has no pumping capabilities and is used mainly for transport to calls on Tenmile Lake.
When needed, Lakeside Fire does have available a portable Hale XL 2000 750 gallon per minute pump, donated to them by the Bureau of Land Management office in Coos Bay. This pump is useful, but takes time to be put into service, and that time would be better spent fighting fire.
The new boat is expected to arrive within two weeks and should be available for viewing prior to the next town hall meeting.
This aluminum hull Fire Boat is well constructed and will greatly increase Lakeside Fire’s ability to protect its residents. Construction consists of aluminum 5086 exterior plate (aircraft grade) 6061 aluminum framing (aircraft grade), Detroit 6V53 power, and an enclosed cabin with seating for 6 fire fighters.
Additionally the boat comes with Radar, sonar, emergency and work lighting, siren, radios, antenna, floating stokes rescue basket, rear 8′ by 6′ fold down divers rescue platform, front mounted monitor deck gun, fire pump, assorted safety equipment, and items yet to be disclosed by Portland Fire.
Volunteer elbow grease to clean and put boat into service … $0.00. Cost to the taxpayers and Lakeside Fire District for the boat and equipment… $0.00. Having the ability to respond to fires on Tenmile Lake and fight fire effectively….PRICELESS!!!
I believe the 22′ White Boston Whaler that the Fire Department currently has was a donation, bought with insurance money from Oregon State Surplus by the City of Lakeside and rehabilitated by donations from people out on the Lakeside in 2000. Does the Fire Department still have the boat loaned by Coos Forest?
The white Boston Whaler that you are refering to is a 15 foot boat. The boat is in service and in use by the department. That boats last call was on EEl Lake on an investigation with Oregon State Police in August. The boats last drill was the first Tuesday in September of 2008.
The boat loaned by Coos Forest? I believe that you are asking about the 22 foot Boston Whaler that the department recieved from the Federal Excess Property Program or F.E.P.P. The department requested and recieved the 22 foot Boston Whaler from the F.E.P.P. in 2006. The boat has been in service on the lakes for the majority of the time that it has been with the department.
The 26 foot fire boat that the department will soon be recieving is also a F.E.P.P. boat. The Federal Excess Property Program is a resource program that the Lakeside Fire Department is qualified to access .Utilization of excess federal property benifts the department , the district, and the taxpayers.
Ted
Methinks you need to do 2 things
1> Remeasure the original Boston Whaler or at the least look at its registration….somebody must have removed 4+ feet.
2> Reed the minutes from the Board meeting when the second boat was received as a loaner from CFP. It may have become a permanent member of the fleet eventually, but originally it was a Coos Forest Patrol loan.
3> Has everyone on the department received their marine boater’s training?
1. The Boat is only as long as it is!
2. And the problem is?
3. As with any new equipment received by the Fire Department we will work towards getting each member trained on tactics and strategy involved in the proper use of said boat. Outside of this particular boats peculiarities the marine boaters portion of this training and requiered documentation will as with any boat in OR be required by its operators. As for the “reeds” We will endeavor to keep the boat out of them!!
[...] [See original, detailed story on the acquisition of the boat] [...]