Canaveral Fire Rescue’s Fireboat 2 can speed up to 35 knots and blast 10,000 gallons of water per minute. Its electronics package is second to none, and its four waterjets can make the vessel dance. Perhaps the most important feature, however, is a small monitor on the port shoulder. The remote-controlled system dispenses the chemical agent Purple-K to extinguish liquefied natural…

Firefighter Casey Brennan steered Rochester (N.Y.) Fire Department’s newest asset north in the Genesee River. Whitecaps dotted the horizon as a 15-knot headwind pushed against the bow.  Conditions worsened after the vessel cleared the jetties and moved into the open waters of Lake Ontario.  “Hold on boys,” Brennan said. “We’re going to come up a bit.” With that, he pushed…

The Los Angeles Pilot Service serves the busiest seaport in the United States. Two new launches will help its pilots move more efficiently and more comfortably from ship to ship.  The 55-by-19-foot Angels Pilot and Angels Navigator replace two smaller vessels built 26 years ago by Willard Marine. Vigor Industrial built the new pilot boats in Vancouver, Wash., using proven…