|
In a beachfront community such as Lewes, a boat capable of responding to emergencies on the water could make a life-or-death difference to someone desperately in need of assistance.
This month the Lewes Fire Department launches a series of fundraisers to come up with $900,000 to buy a boat that would significantly enhance the department’s capacity to save lives and protect property.
“This has been more than a two-year project. We looked at many manufacturers in the United States and Canada and came up with Moose Boats Inc. in Petaluma, Calif.,” said Tim McClanahan, chairman of the fire department’s Build the Boat Committee.
McClanahan said $900,000 would cover the cost of the boat - around $700,000 - with the balance used to build a dock facility. He said this is the first time the department has held fundraisers to purchase equipment.
The fundraising drive kicks off with an event from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., Tuesday, May 6, at the Greene Turtle Restaurant & Sports Bar at the Villages at Five Points.
“The last fundraiser we did was to construct our building on Savannah Road,” McClanahan said.
He said the department has applied for federal grants and also would qualify for some state funding.
Moose Boats would custom build and equip the 44-foot, aluminum-hulled catamaran to the department’s specifications.
“A catamaran hull is more stable as a rescue boat. Everyone thinks of a fireboat, but we think we’ll have a rescue boat with firefighting capabilities,” McClanahan said.
He said Moose also builds boats for the U.S. Navy and the company has an outstanding reputation for building high-quality, very reliable vessels.
Lewes’ boat would be equipped with a 750-gallon- per minute firefighting pump and lighting to facilitate night operations.
The vessel would accommodate two patients requiring backboards, a crew of up to eight and would be operated from a center-positioned console, giving the helmsman an unobstructed view aft. In addition to VHF marine radios, depth sounders and 800 MHz fire radios, the vessel would be equipped with a thermal imaging infrared camera, which would give rescuers the ability to see an individual’s heat signature in zero-visibility conditions.
“We’ll be able to see someone in the water up to 1,000 feet away without actually being able to see them,” McClanahan said. He said the camera is an indispensable tool for spotting someone at night in rough ocean surf.
He said the boat the department now owns, a 21-foot Sea Hawk, although useful, isn’t powerful enough to put to sea in rough weather.
McClanahan said the Sea Hawk’s cabin is very small which limits the number of people it can transport.
“It can’t be used in foul weather because the crew is open to the environment, and it’s not good in heavy seas, which is when you tend to make more rescues,” he said.
The new boat will be highly maneuverable and able to access extremely shallow water. The vessel’s power plant – twin 600 horsepower diesel engines – provide the juice for its jet drives, which have no propeller, eliminating the risk of prop injury to anyone in the water.
“This boat lends itself to everything that we need,” McClanahan said.
He said in developing elements of the fundraising drive, the committee sought a way to provide contributors with opportunities to make donations that are meaningful. So the purchase of specific pieces of equipment can be linked to a donor or several donors.
“Rather than making a general donation we wanted people to be able to say ‘I want to give $800.’ With $800 we can buy a survival suit, and the contributor can feel like they bought something for the boat instead of just making a blind donation,” McClanahan said.
He said the first boat payment is scheduled for June, and delivery is set for no later than Jan. 15, 2009. “We’ll be raising money right up to the time of delivery,” he said.
“This is a regionally capable vessel. We can see it being used south to Bethany Beach and as far north as Big Stone Beach Anchorage,” he said.
McClanahan said the U.S. Coast Guard is glad to hear that Lewes will be getting a sea-worthy boat. “They want to give us more calls but they know that right now we don’t have the proper vessel to handle them,” he said.
McClanahan said the fire department has had preliminary discussions with the University of Delaware about the possibility of basing the vessel at the university’s Marine Operations facility on Pilottown Road.
And although it’s going to be a bit of a wait before the boat is finished, McClanahan is already looking forward to delivery day.
“This thing is coming by truck, and it’s 16 feet wide and 44 feet long. That’s going to have to be one of the neatest things to ever see coming down Savannah Road,” he said.
For additional information on the boat, upcoming fundraising events, donation opportunities, and to see pictures of construction progress when building begins, visit www.lewesfire.com.
Contact Henry Evans at hevans@capegazette.com
|
