Australia: Melbourne's Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Service Board (MFB) provides an on-water presence during the commercial and residential development of the Docklands precint.
After commissioning a Yamaha F40 powered Stabicraft 389 last year, the MFB recently launched a second quick response fire boat. The vessel was virtually identical to the first; the only concession to development is that the original MFB fire boat was powered by Yamaha's F40 outboard with carburettors, while the 2010 MFB has Yamaha's new F40 with the advanced EFI induction system.
According to Chris Schey of the MFB, the fire boat is on call to handle a diverse range of situations, both in the Docklands precinct and beyond.
"Our most common call out is to attend to small fires in the timber piles that support the docks," said Mr Schey.
"These fires can't be accessed by a regular road appliance, we need to get there by water so that we can gain access underneath the piers to the heart of the fire. Generally these are started by fishermen who have been smoking on the piers while fishing." More often than not these fires are at Princes Pier, Port Melbourne, near the entrance to the Yarra River.
For the new MFB fire boat it's important that the Yamaha F40 starts instantly then delivers plenty of power even from a cold start.
As a concession to safety and the kind of work that can be performed, the Yamaha F40 is fitted with a propeller guard.
"While we are primarily set up for fire fighting, it's quite conceivable in the Docklands precinct that we could have to work in situations where there are people in the water," Mr Schey said.
To undertake the work required, the Stabicraft 389 and Yamaha F40 combination have been specifically rigged to the MFB specification. The hull is foam filled so as to provide flotation in the event of swamping.
The MFB boat is fitted with a petrol driven fire pump which not only pumps salt water onto a fire, but can be used as a pump to pump water from a vessel in distress. No foam fire fighting equipment is carried on board.
The crew on board includes two fire fighters in addition to the driver. All three MFB members are required to wear their normal fire fighting protective gear when attending a fire. But because they are on the water, they also don 250N auto inflating jackets.
