Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara

 

High-Tech Fireboat Readied For Los Angeles

 

   LOS ANGELES (AP)--The world's most powerful fireboat, capable of pouring 38,000 gallons of water a minute on a blaze, arrived here March 28 to replace a 78-year-old veteran fireboat that will be preserved as a historical monument.

    The new Los Angeles City Fireboat No. 2 got a water-spouting greeting from other fireboats as it was escorted into the Port of Los Angeles.

    The $8.9 million, 105-foot-long boat arrived after a week-long trip from Washington State, where it was built.  It is the flagship for an $11.6 million fleet of four new fireboats that will be dedicated April 12.  The four current boats will be retired.

    "These new fireboats will provide additional security for the nation's busiest port," Mayor James Han said in a statement.

    The new Fireboat No. 2 has a precision-propulsion system, a crane, and a medical area to treat victims of hypothermia.  It holds diving equipment, a rescue boat, and 6,000 gallons of firefighting foam.  Los Angeles Fire Department officials said it is the world's most powerful vessel.

    It replaces the Randolph J. Scott, the oldest fireboat still in front-line use in the nation.  Built in 1925, the 99-foot-long boat can produce 10,200 gallons of water per minute -- less than a third the capacity of its successor.

    The new fireboat will be named the Warner L. Lawrence, after one of the department's captains.

    Dedication ceremonies for the new Fireboat No. 2 and three other new fireboats, as well as the retirement of the Scott will be held Saturday, April 12 starting at 10 a.m. at Fire Station 112 at the corner of 5th Street and Harbor Boulevard in San Pedro.

    The public is invited to attend, said L.A. City Fire Capt. Bill Wick, who added that the department planned to celebrate with the largest water display ever held on the Port of Los Angeles.  The fireboats will be on display to the public from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

    The Scott will be drydocked and preserved as a historical monument, said Wick, although details are still being worked out with the Los Angeles Maritime Museum.

--Log staff contributed to this story.


THE LOG, February 6-19, 2004

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