By Dave Wedge
Sunday, March 18, 2012
The city’s shiny, new $4.2 million state-of-the art fire boat — dedicated with great fanfare just six months ago and funded in part by federal stimulus money — has already suffered pump problems and is being yanked out of the water for a hull inspection, the Herald has learned.
The 71-foot John S. Damrell, which was paid for jointly with federal and city funds, was purchased from a Canadian ship builder to replace the Boston Fire Department’s problem-plagued, 40-year-old boat, The Firefighter. But the acclaimed vessel — christened in Charlestown last September — has already had to undergo pump repairs and will be pulled out of the water in the next few weeks and put in dry dock for maintenance inspections, BFD spokesman Steve MacDonald confirmed.
News of the Damrell’s impending drydocking comes as another Boston fire boat, the 27-foot Norman Knight, has been out of service for nearly two years due to broken water pumps, a malfunctioning generator and other maintenance problems. That vessel, which was donated to the department by actor Denis Leary, sat on blocks in a BFD maintenance garage on Massachusetts Avenue until last week, when it was put back in the water just days after a Herald inquiry.
The Norman Knight’s absence became an issue three weeks ago when a fire broke out at the Dorchester Yacht Club. With the Knight out of service, a Massport boat had to assist firefighters in dousing the flames...
Read the rest of the story in the Boston Herald.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
The city’s shiny, new $4.2 million state-of-the art fire boat — dedicated with great fanfare just six months ago and funded in part by federal stimulus money — has already suffered pump problems and is being yanked out of the water for a hull inspection, the Herald has learned.
The 71-foot John S. Damrell, which was paid for jointly with federal and city funds, was purchased from a Canadian ship builder to replace the Boston Fire Department’s problem-plagued, 40-year-old boat, The Firefighter. But the acclaimed vessel — christened in Charlestown last September — has already had to undergo pump repairs and will be pulled out of the water in the next few weeks and put in dry dock for maintenance inspections, BFD spokesman Steve MacDonald confirmed.
News of the Damrell’s impending drydocking comes as another Boston fire boat, the 27-foot Norman Knight, has been out of service for nearly two years due to broken water pumps, a malfunctioning generator and other maintenance problems. That vessel, which was donated to the department by actor Denis Leary, sat on blocks in a BFD maintenance garage on Massachusetts Avenue until last week, when it was put back in the water just days after a Herald inquiry.
The Norman Knight’s absence became an issue three weeks ago when a fire broke out at the Dorchester Yacht Club. With the Knight out of service, a Massport boat had to assist firefighters in dousing the flames...
Read the rest of the story in the Boston Herald.
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