From Bill Kaempffer, Fire Department spokesman:
The Fire Department will dedicate its new fire boat Wednesday, Sept 4., at the Port Authority Dock. The department recently took delivery of the 33-foot vessel, which is equipped with three 300 horsepower engines and a deck gun that can shoot 2,000 gallons of water per minute. This will be a great benefit for the Shoreline of Connecticut.
Here are some facts about the new fire boat:
· Cost $697,000 – purchased with a Homeland Security/Port Security Grant
· 33 foot
· Built by Safe Boats in Bremerton, Washington
· 3 (300 horsepower) Yamaha 4 Stroke engines
· Can go up to 48 miles per hour
· Holds 21 people (4 crew plus 17 passengers)
· 300 gallon fuel tank
· One water gun and two hand lines (gun shoots at 2,000 gallons per minute)
· 20 gallons of foam
Who will staff and operate this the 33-foot vessel, which is equipped with three 300-horsepower engines and a deck gun that can shoot 2,000 gallons of water per minute and at what cost to the taxpayers? What area will it cover and when?
The Homeland Security Act strikes again. Don’t slam Bridgeport. This is happening all over the place: a piece of equipment that has been on the dream and/or fantasy list of every emergency service provider in the United States is now available because the government is throwing around money since 9/11. First it was for the big cities like New York or Los Angeles where you could understand the assistance because of their international significance. Now it is filtering down through the country in general. Some volunteer fire departments in my stretch of Pennsylvania qualified for new breathing apparatus and the like, the kind of stuff used for ordinary house fires.
*** Bpt’s bound to get a lot of use from this money pit, no? ***
Mojo: to put in words anyone in Bridgeport can understand, the Homeland Security Act has become walking-around money for 525 United States senators and congressmen.
Well it was not built in Bridgeport’s shipyard that went broke, was it? And the Feds are paying for it, which means we are, in the future, because of our “rolling deficits,” right? So what did Bridgeport Fire Department say in terms of necessary actions they will do in the future to qualify for this vessel?
Can anybody remember the $245,000 armored personnel carrier purchased 2-3 years ago? How many miles on it? What has it been used for? Where is it now? Big spending sometimes brings necessary things to the City, but what if they aren’t even necessary? What if they almost need to be kept secret, lest taxpayers become further outraged at expenditures of public funds?
Perhaps the water guns on the fireboat can be used at a fund raiser to activate a dunking stool where elected officials volunteer to answer questions from the public. If they lie, they don’t stay dry!!! Time will tell.
I realize this fire boat did not cost the city any money to purchase, however it will cost us a ton to operate. The fuel consumption will be enormous. When called on, the boat will be manned by on-duty firefighters thus leaving a gap somewhere else.
We do have a large coastline but very few structures along this waterfront. I would venture to say when the decision is made to call for the fire boat, its main job will be to water down an already destroyed building. We really did not need this boat at this time.
I would like to change the subject for a moment. The Post has the story of Former Fairfield fire chief dies at 85 Fairfield Fire Department, David W. Russell Jr. My condolences, he was truly a very nice man, he will be missed.
*** The city of Bpt could always lease this supersoaker boat to a real port city that could use it, no? It would help pay for the overall regular maintenance, etc.! *** MONEY PIT ***