FDNY's $27 million fireboats beset by glitches, in need of repairs, sidelined from duty
Tuesday, May 10th 2011, 4:00 AM
John Roca/News
The FDNY's state-of-the-art fireboat, the 343, debuted in 2010, but has been sidelined because of repairs and glitches. The gleaming ship, named the 343, debuted to great fanfare last Sept. 11, with plans of revolutionizing the way the FDNY responds to emergencies on the city's waterways - including rescues, fires and terror attacks.
It hasn't quite worked out that way. The boat has been beset by technical difficulties, and has suffered from malfunctioning water pumps, intercom system and bow camera. The ship just spent two weeks at a Connecticut dry dock, the Daily News has learned.
The Fire Department says the glitches are part of the shakeout process, but some FDNY sources paint a different picture.
"The thing is more trouble than it's worth," grumbled one source. "No one is saying the thing is a lemon, but it clearly wasn't ready when they brought it out last fall."
Even at the ship's ceremonial debut, several water cannons didn't work, another source said.
"The boat is complicated, and every time we turn around, something isn't working quite right," that source said.
The 343, named after the number of firefighters killed on 9/11, and its sister ship, Firefighter II, were bought largely with federal Homeland Security grant money.
Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Florida built the ships, which are a big upgrade over the FDNY's aging marine fleet.
The new identical 500-ton boats are each 140 feet long and 38 feet wide - and are meant to produce a staggering 50,000 gallons of water a minute.
Problems with the pumps, however, have frequently reduced that capacity. The boat, which also suffered periodic electrical issues, has been taken out of service for repairs far more than expected, a FDNY source said.
The 343 returned to the city in late April after two weeks at the Thames Shipyard in Connecticut.
FDNY officials vigorously defended the boat's performance and said its stint at the dry dock was because the 343 is still under warranty and simply needed routine maintenance and a paint job.
"There were issues as there are in any prototype item," said FDNY spokesman Frank Dwyer. "They have been and will continue to be addressed by FDNY and Eastern Shipbuilding Group."
Dwyer said the 343 has passed every inspection and that it has been in service "the overwhelming majority of the time."
He said older fireboats were deployed when 343 was sidelined, ensuring that the city's waterways were covered.
Another FDNY source blamed the grumbling about the boat on Marine Unit veterans unhappy about having to learn a new vessel and obtain a new license.
The need for a powerful fireboat was evident during the 2001 terror attacks, when an FDNY ship was the sole source of water to Ground Zero for hours.
"These boats are specifically designed for this city," said Glenn Corbett, professor of fire science at John Jay College. "I'm not surprised there are glitches. It's just a question of how serious they end up being."
jlemire@nydailynews.com
9:57:55 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
CTLF 4: Soon enough the boats will be coming from China or India.
Skynard
9:59:24 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
O.K. Now its time to bring in the big guns with their unlimited funds, BOOMY with his billions to fund this floating wreck, or possibly Bill Gates and all his BILLIONS along with his superior, advanced knowledge of computers to correct the issues. Or bring in some kindergarten children with their simplistic minds to actually repair the issues. The choice appears to be a non-issue hear . My choice is the children.
anabelle23
10:01:32 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
Only $27 MILLION? Gee, considering the only place I ever see firemen is in the supermarket with grocery carts filled with taxpayer produce and food-for-all, perhaps they should REFUND our $27,000,000.00 so WE can buy some food. Most executive fireman appear to be nothing more than a taxpayer-abusing, payroll-padding greedy scumbags. Nothing new there.
Skynard
10:03:27 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
The only other issue for me is, If you cannot swim, stay out of the water. Your tub may be too deep for your aspect of reality.
Skynard
10:09:52 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
Glad to be anywhere: I can only guess, your solution is that we man the Warfs with individuals with buckets, almost sounds more effective than spending $27 million dollars on failed technology which possibly will end up on a scrap heap, Kudos to you.
jjjsmith
10:19:48 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
annabelle23--take the fire test and then you to can have all the free food you want--and seagull on your days off.
Skynard
10:20:21 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
What I find most incomprehensible is the fact that prior proven technology appears to have been negated and totally ignored, is the public to ignore this aspect of reality, or are we too damned stupid to comprehend less than forward thinking. Once again I choose kindergarten children as having more insight to an actuall solution.
TomKo44
10:41:13 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
This is a common problem with NYC equipment. They always insist on custom designed stuff rather than taking what the company has successfully built. Remember the Grumman buses that the MTA bought that fell apart? It only happened in NYC. No other city had a problem with them because they used the standard bus not a redesigned bus. Now they are doing it with the "Cab of Tomorrow". As long as we insist on buying custom made products we will have these kind of problems.
Chest Rockwell
11:05:50 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
Fottiti, the uh navy doesn't build their own boats my friend.
glad to be here
11:43:45 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
'anabelle23': If you want anyone to take your comments seriously, research prior to posting. Firefighters pay for their meals (they're not "taxpayer provided"). They aren't "Taxpayer abusing" but rather they are taxpayers & they will risk their lives for anyone (taxpayers or not). They don't "payroll pad" but rather they work and are compensated much like anyone else with a job. They are available to respond to alarms while out picking up their meal & are in service 24/7. There is no meal break, if a call comes while they are eating, they respond immediately. What do you do for a living that makes you feel so high & mighty?
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