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Only in a (fire) boat

Keith Cousins | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 4 months AGO
by Keith Cousins
| July 10, 2016 9:00 PM

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<p>LOREN BENOIT/Press Bob Shovald, left, and Chad Tortorelli, right, operate the helm and controls to Coeur d'Alene Fire Department's new fireboat on Friday on the waters of Lake Coeur d'Alene.</p>

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<p>LOREN BENOIT/Press The mounted deck gun on the roof of the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department's fire boat shoots water towards Tubbs Hill.</p>

COEUR d'ALENE — When a summer camper enjoying Tubbs Hill on Thursday slipped and fell to the rocks below, the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department's new fireboat was deployed to the scene.

A three-man crew operating the 34.5-foot vessel was able to, according to fire officials, quickly bring the boat from where it is moored at a boathouse on Blackwell Island to where the accident occurred. Using the landing-craft style exit at the bow of the ship, the crew was able to get the youth onto the boat and in a matter of minutes. A gurney was wheeled onto the vessel at the Third Steet dock to transport the young man to a waiting ambulance.

"It made it so much faster and easier for everybody involved," said Bob Shovald, a firefighter who helped design the boat. "I think it's going to be a big benefit to us."

The fireboat, purchased and outfitted using $450,000 from as voter-approved $6 million public safety bond, arrived in Coeur d'Alene at the beginning of June. Fire Chief Kenny Gabriel told The Press on Friday the boat has already been used on four calls since it arrived, and the rescue on Tubbs Hill highlights how much of a benefit the vessel will be to the department.

"It worked beyond expectations," Gabriel added. "It's mind-blowing how great it is and what a tool it is for us."

Coeur d'Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer was at the Third Street dock on Friday before The Press was given a tour of the yet-to-be christened vessel. Widmyer highlighted the fact 85 percent of Coeur d'Alene residents voted in favor of the bond, and said Gabriel has been working for more than a decade to bring the department its first fireboat.

"It's good to be able to put all those pieces together," Widmyer said. "We're a waterfront community and we need to protect our waterfront. This piece of equipment allows us to do that."

In the past, Gabriel said the department relied on a partnership with Kootenai County Fire and Rescue for use of a boat when it was needed. Last summer, Coeur d'Alene firefighters used a boat donated to the department by the Idaho Department of Lands to fight approximately 25 fires on Tubbs Hill.

"But it wasn't even close to what we needed," Gabriel said. "So we learned what we needed from that first boat and specced this boat with a lot more education on what our needs were."

Gabriel said the boat will be used for rescue, boat and marina fires, and "anything else you can imagine that could happen on the lake." The vessel, custom-built by Armstrong Marine in Port Angeles, Wash., is also equipped to allow county divers a platform to work from, which Gabriel said is a continuation of a long-standing partnership with the county.

The Coeur d'Alene Fire Department will, he added, take over coverage of the north shore of the lake and anywhere they're needed medically, while the county concentrates on coverage of the Spokane River.

Gabriel said fire personnel already has 120 hours of training with the fireboat, and each fire station will have teams who are able to operate it.

"It's a complex piece of equipment; you can't just give it the keys and operate it like it's a little 19-foot boat," Gabriel added. "There's a lot to it."

Fire Inspector Craig Etherton provided The Press with a hands-on look at new fireboat, which he said is outfitted with the latest technology. There are bright LED lights on the vessel, he said, as well as radar, sonar, GPS, and forward-looking infrared.

"That's essentially night vision and it's very valuable technology for us to have," Etherton said. "We are able to use it to ensure we don't miss any hotspots when we are fighting fires. We can even use that to assist law enforcement in locating someone if, for example, a suspect decided to book it to Tubbs Hill at night."

The boat is powered by two 300-horsepower outboard engines and Etherton said it can reach speeds of up to 45 mph. Providing emergency medical service was a huge aspect of the design, Etherton added, and up to six patients placed on backboards will easily fit on the vessel.

A deck gun is mounted on the top of the boat, which Etherton said is ideal because fireboats often run into problems maintaining position when a deck gun mounted on the bow begins pumping out water.

"Not only can we throw water from the deck gun, we can hook hoses up to the device here and go wherever we need to go," he said.

Shovald added that, for firefighters, pressure is key when it comes to fighting blazes in elevated locations. The vessel can pump 750 gallons of water a minute at 250 pounds per second through the on-board hoses, which will easily allow emergency responders to reach the top of Tubbs Hill with hoseline from the boat should the need arise.

"It's the same rating as our land pumpers; this one's got a bigger water tank, though," Shovald said with a smile. "We can also be a floating fire hydrant if we have a situation where there are none."

Gabriel said having the boat in Coeur d'Alene is gratifying for many reasons. It enhances the partnership his department has with other emergency agencies, it had approval from both the city council and community, and it exponentially expands the presence his firefighters have on Lake Coeur d'Alene.

"What we strive to do is provide the best possible service to everyone in the community in a fiscally responsible way," Gabriel said. "This is a workhorse that we will use a great deal."

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