Derecktor’s Bridgeport Facility Delivers Fast Response Fireboat for the State of Pennsylvania

Bridgeport, CT --, specifically, the City of Philadelphia. The Independence is an all-aluminum vessel, designed by Robert Allan Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia and was constructed at Derecktor's Bridgeport, Connecticut facility. The high-speed fireboat was designed and built for year-round service and is a jet drive vessel with a 5,500 gpm pump capacity and 200 gallon foam tank. The hull and deckhouse are of robust all-welded aluminum construction and the scantlings are designed with extra thickness of plating on the lower sides and bottom forward for ice strengthening. Four water jets propel the vessel, each driven by a high-speed diesel engine through a Cardan shaft. The vessel is capable of achieving a fast response speed of 36 knots with two crew, six firemen, full fuel and water tanks. Additionally the vessel has a rescue boat that can be launched at low speed and temperature controlled crew quarters and galley that can be converted to medical care areas. The low water and air draft, combined with water jet propulsion allows the Independence maneuvering ability in waters that were previously un-navigable. The technology engineered provides the Philadelphia fire department with all automatic controls with the push of a button and the movement of a joystick commands the center engines to switch to fire pumping mode. The pilot house is large enough to be an active command center while performing other assignments and is equipped with radar, GPS, a chart plotter, communications, remote controlled and manual search lights and a thermal imaging camera for night operation. Today the city owns three fireboats, the Delaware, the Franklin and the Bernard Samuel, all built between 1948 and 1949. The Bernard Samuel, the smallest of the three, will be retired upon placing the Independence into service. The vessel compliments the fireboat fleet allowing the fire department to raise their level of service through quicker response time and state of the art electronic technology. The Independence will be docked at the U.S. Coast Guard base on the Delaware River in Philadelphia and is the only similarly equipped vessel serving the Port of Philadelphia that has the speed to make a response practical along the entire length of the port to the mouth of the Delaware Bay. The Port of Philadelphia covers the navigable length of the Delaware River south to Wilmington, Delaware and includes both the Pennsylvania and New Jersey borders. A spokesperson from the Philadelphia Fire department commented “it is a great day for Philadelphia and our surrounding region; there is now a Fireboat that can quickly respond to any emergency along our waterfront.” Paul Derecktor, President of Derecktor Shipyards, commented, “it’s rewarding to be given the opportunity to provide a vessel of high quality for the use and aid in protecting and serving the public. We take the responsibility of making sure that first responders and those working to secure the public have the very best that can be provided.” Other General Specifications: Dimensions • Length over all (moulded): 66' 2" • Length DWL: 62' 6" • Breadth (moulded): 19' 8" • Depth: 7' 6" • Draft (baseline): 2' 8" Capacities • Fuel oil: 1,600 US gallons • Freshwater capacity: 50 US gallons • Foam concentrate: 200 US gallons Propulsion System • (4) High performance marine diesel from MTU Detroit Diesel, Series 60. (825 hp at 2,300 rpm). • (4) Marine reverse-reduction gears from ZF-Marine. Model ZF 360 with 1.237:1 ratio. • (2) Marine clutches from Twin Disc. Model HPTO 140. • (4) Sets of Cardan Shafts from Driveline. Model GWB 687 Series Universal Joint Shaft Assembly. • (2) Vulkan Coupling. Model VKE 4011S. VKL 3415. • (4) Hamilton Jets Model HJ403. FI-Fi System • (2) Fire Pumps from STANG. 250x200-400 End Suction Pump. STANG Low Pro-Series Monitors: (1) 4” size, 1500 gpm capacity; (1) 6” size, 3500 gpm capacity, located on a folding mast; (2) 3” size 1000 gpm capacity. Performance • Speed - 36 knots at full power with 2 crew, 6 firemen, full fuel and water tanks. • Range/Endurance - 180 nautical miles at 28 knots. • 8 hours of maneuvering during fire-fighting using two engines at 130 hp. • 8 hours for fire-fighting pumps using two (2) engines at 350 hp. Allison Seminara -- Derecktor Shipyards Phone: 203-336-0108, ext.155 -- Fax: 203-382-9476 allisons@derecktor.com Suzanne Alent -- Derecktor Shipyards Phone: 203-336-0108, ext.112 -- Fax: 203-382-9476 suzannea@derecktor.com