(JEANERETTE, La.) — Metal Shark is building two welded-aluminum fireboats for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department in Maryland.
Designed by Metal Shark’s in-house engineering team and now under construction at the company’s Franklin, La., shipyard, the new 50 Defiant NXT monohull pilothouse fireboats are being acquired to provide a significant boost to the department’s maritime firefighting capability. The new vessels offer faster speeds, enabling shorter response times; greater pumping volume, increasing firefighting effectiveness; and a next-generation design, improving efficiency while affording greater safety to firefighters.
The new fireboats feature a wide range of next-generation enhancements including a spacious, climate-controlled pilothouse. Metal Shark’s signature “pillarless glass” with reverse-raked windshield significantly reduces blind spots compared to conventional pilothouse fireboats with smaller, framed windows. A unique window arrangement, with a second tier of side windows below the beltline, provides improved downward-angle visibility, crucial while maneuvering alongside smaller vessels or during man-overboard retrieval.
An overhead skylight array provides an unobstructed upward view when operating alongside ships or elevated structures, or during helicopter hoisting operations. The result is mission-enhancing visibility throughout the complete range of firefighting and rescue scenarios.
The new 50-by-16-foot fireboats will feature twin inboard diesel waterjet propulsion for maximum performance and pinpoint maneuverability. Projected top speed is in excess of 45 knots, for the fastest possible emergency-response time. At a more economical cruise 30-knot cruise speed, the vessels are expected to deliver a nominal operating range of approximately 250 nautical miles.
Designed for maximum firefighting capability and water pumping volume, the new vessels will deliver a flow rate in excess of 8,500 gallons per minute, with twin 3,000-gpm self-priming fire pumps driven via PTO from the main engines. Each pump draws from its own dedicated in-hull sea chest, feeding a central manifold with crossover capability, which in turn supplies the entire system.
From the fire control station at the port helm, flow is directed as desired via electronically actuated 8-inch slow-close valves with manual backup. The vessels are each equipped with a remote-operated electric rooftop monitor, two aft-mounted monitors, two aft dual handline outlets, and two 5-inch Storz hydrant outlets. Dual 55-gallon reservoirs carry a total of 110 gallons of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) per vessel.
– Metal Shark
