Crossword clues for fireboat
Wiktionary
n. A harbor boat designed for pumping high volumes of harbor water onto dockside fires.
WordNet
n. a boat equipped to fight fires on ships or along a waterfront
Wikipedia
A fireboat is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipment. Older designs derived from tugboats and modern fireboats more closely resembling seafaring ships can both be found in service today. Some departments would give their multi-purpose craft the title of "fireboat" also.
They are frequently used for fighting fires on docks and shore side warehouses as they can directly attack fires in the supporting underpinnings of these structures. They also have an effectively unlimited supply of water available, pumping directly from below the hull. Fireboats can be used to assist shore-based firefighters when other water is in low supply or is unavailable, for example, due to earthquake breakage of water mains, as happened in San Francisco due to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
Some modern fireboats are capable of pumping tens of thousands of gallons of water per minute. An example is Fire Boat #2 of the Los Angeles Fire Department, the Warner Lawrence, with the capability to pump up to and up to in the air.
Fireboats are most usually seen by the public when welcoming a fleet or historical ships with a display of their water moving capabilities, throwing large arcs of water in every direction.
Occasionally fireboats are used to carry firefighters, Emergency Medical Technicians, and a physician with their equipment to islands and other boats. Some may be used as icebreakers, like the Chicago Fire Department's Victor L. Schlaeger which can break 8 to 12 inch ice. They may also carry divers or surface water rescue workers. Passengers from ships in danger can be also transferred to various kind of rescue boats. Rescue boats may be used also for oil and chemical destruction on rivers, lakes and seas.For example, the Helsinki Rescue Department in Helsinki, Finland has various kinds of boats for various kind of firefighting, rescue, and oil destruction tasks.
Also hydrocopters, rigid-hulled inflatable boats, fanboat and even hovercrafts and helicopters are used in fire, rescue and medical emergency situations.
Cities with fireboats are usually located on a large body of water with port facilities. Smaller fire departments lacking resources will use rigid-hulled inflatable boat or borrow boats from local rescue agencies (EMS, coast guard, military).
Usage examples of "fireboat".
One, Dimitros, had ridden his fireboat right in, while his longboat team, rowing frantically behind, had screamed at him to jump.
It would take many hits as it came at the opposing ship, but by the time the enemy realized the danger, that it was not engaging an ordinary warship, the fireboat was beside it.
As he approached, he could see it was an antique fireboat, built of rich brown wood, mahogany or teak.
The bulk of a fireboat thrust itself into the blazing area of the river.
Set the fireboats on their line, leave one man to each, have him jump overboard at the last moment.
When the fireboats had struck, the besiegers must have run to the shore.
Spaniards were the masters of the fireboats, using them against the Infidels in many battles, but we became victims of our own cunning when we fought the English.
Two undermanned fireboats squirted high plumes of water onto two separate blazes.
London Fire Brigade has two fireboats with foam pumps but they are stationed upstream as well.
Brigade has two fireboats, both have been tasked to rush teams to help defend the Barrier.
Raikes uses the radio to order his precious fireboats back up-river before they are cut off.
They were in a position to offer protection to the Saxon if she chose to enter the Bogue, but the fireboats were also positioned to attack readily.
Two frigates against fifteen war junks and fourteen fireboats will seem laughable to Admiral Kuan.
It was being shadowed by a couple of fireboats and cops were swarming around on the decks.
Admiral Jacobzoon, who was in command, instead of sending down the fireboats in batches as arranged, sent them all off one after another, and started the two mine ships immediately afterwards.