The Long Beach Fire Department is proud to announce the recent arrival of two new fireboats - "Protector."  and "Vigilance".  These Robert Allan Ltd - designed fireboats are identical vessels constructed at Foss Maritime’s shipyard in Seattle.  Considered to be the most powerful and sophisticated fireboats in the world, they are replacing the POLB's (1988/1989) vintage fireboats, "Liberty" and "Challenger."    

Each new fireboat has a maximum speed of 12 knots, a low wash (less than 12”) speed of eight knots and onsite endurance of five days. Control stations are located both forward and aft in the wheelhouse, with bidirectional operation and visibility of all working deck areas being a key feature.  Exceptional low speed maneuverability and stationkeeping are provided by the Voith Schneider propulsion system.

Propulsion power is provided by a pair of Caterpillar 3512C main engines developing 2,012 bhp at 1,600 rpm, which are driving two Voith Schneider Propellers VSP 26GII/165 AE45.  An additional two Caterpillar 3512C engines and one Caterpillar C12 engine will team up with the drive engines to power the array of seven firefighting pumps, ranging in size from 2,000 GPM to 8,000 GPM with a total aggregate capacity of 41,000 GPM.

Click on the following link to see the Voith Schneider propellers in action:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4VnlzxPtn8&feature=player_embedded

Two of the seven fire pumps are driven by the diesel propulsion engines.   However, in firefighting mode, the propulsion power is limited to approximately 25 percent with the remaining 75 percent available to the fire pumps.

This allows the fireboats to be positioned in a fuel-efficient manner, while at the same time increasing the vessels’ pumping power without requiring additional engines. As the VSP pitch can be altered, the fireboats can operate efficiently and safely under all operating conditions.

The vessels will be equipped with (10) monitors in total, the largest capable of delivering 12,000 GPM at a 600’ range.  This monitor alone exceeds the requirements of a National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Type II fireboat.  In addition there will be nine other monitors ranging from 1,500 to 6,000 GPM.  Two of these monitors will be able to deliver 6,000 GPM of firefighting foam at a range of 500’.  There are four hydrants with a capacity of 500 GPM in conjunction with the shore-side supply of up to 22,000 GPM.