Harry Newell (fireboat)
The Harry Newell is a highspeed fireboat operated out of Ketchikan, Alaska, since August, 1986.[1] She is built of aluminium, is 45 feet long, is propelled by a pair of 410 bhp diesel engines, at up to 30 knots.[2] Her pumps can throw 5,000 gallons per minute through four water cannons.
She replaced a wooden fireboat with a pumping capacity of 4,000 gallons per minute.[1]
Ketchikan is built on a narrow strip of low-lying land that back on to mountains.[1] Locals say the city is "five miles long and two blocks wide," which means much of it is within range of a fireboat's pumps.
The vessel is named after Harry Newell, a Ketchikan firefighter who died in the line of duty in 1955.[3] He was the first and only Ketchikan firefighter to die on duty.[2]
The Harry Newell was held in reserve when the fishing vessel Sable had a fire, at her moorings, on January 25, 2010.[4]
Early on the morning of October 18, 2016, a fire was detected in a dwelling on Gravina Island.[5] The Harry Newell responded. Firefighters were unable to save the building, but prevented the fire spreading.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Workboats Northwest Yard Delivers High-Speed Fireboat To Ketchikan, Maritime Reporter, August 1986. Retrieved on 2017-03-18. “The all-aluminium Newell culminates a more than three-year effort by Ketchikan to replace a well-used, 65-foot wooden fireboat, which despite its 4,000-gpm pumping capacity, was deemed too slow to serve the city.”
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Murray Lundberg. Images of Ketchikan, Alaska, Explore North, 2014. Retrieved on 2017-03-18. “With an overall length of 45 feet and beam of 12 feet, the fireboat has a pumping capacity of more than 5,000 gpm through four fire monitors.”
- ↑ Murray Lundberg. 2017 Alaska Small Ships, Alaska Cruise. Retrieved on 2017-03-18. “It was named after firefighter Harry V. Newell, who died in the line of duty on April 7, 1955, at the age of 56.”
- ↑ Boat Saved by Neighbors: Call reported smoke and flames seen on boat in harbor, Sit News, 2010-01-25. Retrieved on 2017-03-18. “Responding vehicles included Engine-2, Engine-1, Rescue-1, Fire/Boat Harry Newell (standby), FD1, and Medic-1.”
- ↑ Mary Kaufman. No injuries in Rosa Reef area fire; Structure a total loss, Sit News, 2016-10-18. Retrieved on 2017-03-18. “The M/V Harry Newell responded early Sunday morning to a report of the structure fire in the Rosa Reef area on Gravina Island.”