Toronto Fire Services (TFS) operates two emergency response vessels. The 1964 vintage William Lyon Mackenzie (WLM) is an 82’ steel hull tug that uses twin diesel-powered Worthington fire pumps providing tremendous fire fighting and emergency response capabilities on the waterfront. Its secondary but no less important role is to provide ice breaking duties to keep the ferry services running and reduce ice pressure damage within the harbour.
The WLM is a heritage vessel that has had virtually every system on board modernized within the past 10 years, including new propulsion engines, new pump engines, new generators, a renovated 12v/120v/240v electrical system, a rebuilt wheelhouse, new deck guns, and new search and emergency lighting. It’s an essential piece of apparatus that will serve the city for years.
The William Thornton (WT) is a 1982 former Canadian Coast Guard vessel that helped to prove the need for a second vessel able to provide a faster response to the outer reaches of the city’s waterfront. Its primary role is for medical emergencies and quick response to vessels in distress. Its limitations are the large wake produced, meaning it’s required to proceed slowly within the harbour, and the limited capacity of the portable fire pump system.
A solution for the future
A specific type of vessel to replace the WT was the best solution for the future. The criteria were strict: fast response with as little wake as possible, require as little draft as possible, have superior pumping capacity, provide a safe water-level work platform, and offer an enclosed medical room for patient care.
Our Marine Division’s web-search investigation indicated the “Firestrom-55” built by Metal Craft Marine in Kingston, Ont., satisfied all those requirements as a purpose built fire fighting emergency response vessel. The eventually ordered 55’ aluminum hull fire boat is powered by twin 1136HP Caterpillar model C18 engines driving twin Hamilton Jet drives and twin 11,360LPM (3000 USGM) Darley fire pumps. A 3000 USGP roof monitor, a 2000 USGPM bow monitor, and twin 1250USGPM manual side mounted monitors coupled with various deck hydrants provide a total realistic flow of at least 26,500LPM @1000kPa given there’s no lift to the water supply. The wheelhouse provides belted seating for TFS crew members as well as space for two EMS personnel to attend to a patient.
The boat only requires a 0.85-metre draft and produces very little wake allowing a full speed response directly from the dock and far more penetration to the various Toronto river mouths and areas within the channels of Toronto Island than before.
To properly search the market for similar vessels being produced and obtain the best value for the city, TFS worked with our purchasing and materials management staff to create a Request for Information (RFI) process, with the intent to write a specification and solicit open bidding for the lowest bid meeting the specification in case other vendors produced a similar product.
The RFI document stating the basic requirements of the intended vessel was sent to every North American company that could be identified as possibly manufacturing this type of vessel. Given the fact that Metal Craft Marine has produced this exact vessel in various sizes for years, and they’re proximity to Toronto reducing delivery and inspection costs, they were the only respondent. The results of this process gave TFS the validity to request a non-competitive purchase process eventually passed by city council.
If we learned anything in the design and purchase of a new fire fighting vessel, it was that Transport Canada, being the regulatory board and authority having jurisdiction for ship building, has a lot to say about the build design, componentry, and safety features of vessels registered under Canadian title.
The first hurdle was the engine model we wanted to use versus the model Transport Canada has in their system. Understandably, they list engines with the highest emission standard possible, but the design of engine they approved requires large and heavy exhaust system componentry that takes up too much space in the small engine room and would negatively affect the ability of the vessel to get up on plane. After much negotiation, we were able to have Tier-2 engines incorporated in the design. These are still very clean engines but allow for the use of conventional fiberglass “wet” marine exhaust components, not a heavy diesel particulate filter, selective catalyst reducer, and diesel exhaust fluid seen in the heavy truck market.
The market for marine componentry is quite small, so the jet drive systems were the next issue. We couldn’t lock in the jet units produced in New Zealand until the engine issue was settled with Transport Canada. Within that timeframe, we lost the hold on the two initial drive units. By luck, the build slot for a set of drives was released by the manufacturer after a customer backed out. With an increase in the budget authorized, we were able to purchase these units that were a newer style using electronic controls instead of mechanical. This will provide far more intricate maneuverability when working near other vessels, during patient/body recovery, and docking.
Fortunately, with the engine and jet drive issue not settled at the time, the basic structure of the raw hull and wheelhouse/upper deck could continue. All parts were CAD designed and individually marked as per their location. Hull construction started by laying out the full deck upside down. Bulkhead divisions were welded vertically along the deck to give the basic outline of the finished hull. Each bulkhead was precut with recesses designed to accept longitudinal framing running bow to stern. With the framing welded, the entire hull was sheeted with 5/16” (bottom) and 1/4” (sides) aluminum for the finished surface. Once welded, the entire structure was rotated so all welds could be completed from the inside as well.
The wheelhouse structure was built concurrently as a separate unit. Once the hull was fully welded, the wheelhouse and hull were welded into a single unit to create the raw aluminum vessel structure. The deck was roughly sandblasted to create a natural anti-slip surface.
The unit was transferred from their fabrication facility to the paint vendor for prep and a full paint process including an anti-fouling coating below the waterline. Once painted, the structure was moved to their facility at the waterfront. The jet drives were the first item installed, followed by the engines and fire pumps once delivered. For obvious reasons, there’s a watertight compartment between the drives and the engines, so once installed, both items are lined up to close tolerances so the “chalk-fast” epoxy can be poured to define the engine mount locations permanently, and the fire pumps connected to the front of the engine crankshafts.
Like any construction project, the last 20 per cent takes significantly more time than the first 80 per cent, and a fire boat is no different. There were numerous decisions along the way on deck component layouts, fittings, custom railing designs, plumbing, extensive wiring requirements, internal fire protection systems, patient care and transfer, decal design, emergency lighting, radio pre-wire, electrolysis protection, seating locations, and all the mandatory marine system requirements. All these decisions came to fruition at this stage. To complicate things further, most decisions were either time related as they meant something else had to be done first, or they had a financial impact that had to be considered.
The manufacturer dealt with the various regulatory bodies and kept TFS informed at every step. The proximity of Kingston to Toronto meant TFS staff were able to regularly travel for site inspections and clear up inevitable small decisions as they came up.
The anticipation of delivery is like chasing the Stanley Cup; the thrill of winning comes with a great deal of work. Once the vessel completes sea trials and certification by Transport Canada, TFS and Metal Craft Marine staff will make the journey to Toronto. The official hand-off from manufacturer to owner involves a legal process to register and name the vessel with Transport Canada once delivered. A training manual will be created along with an extensive component service manual to be sure warranty is maintained and all service points are captured. Staff training will be a two-part process; the marine captains will each become proficient operating the unique controls involving both throttle and thrust operation, and the marine engineers will learn all mechanical, fluid, and electrical systems.
A November delivery creates a unique problem for Toronto Fire. The dock at Station 334 has neither the space or electrical service to bubble and heat all three vessels over the winter, so a storage plan for one of the vessels will be devised. There aren’t too many Canadian cities requiring a fresh-water 55’ jet drive fire boat, but if I can provide any advice, buying a fire boat of any size is the same as purchasing any large asset: identify your needs, do your research by identifying the market options, know the regulations to be followed, and pick a reputable vendor with extensive experience to build the vessel you need.
Rob Anselmi is the division chief, equipment and asset management, for Toronto Fire Services. He achieved Master EVT level and is responsible for the design, procurement, and acceptance of all vehicles and most equipment purchased by TFS.
