The New York City Fire Department's Fancy New Boat

New York City has over four hundred miles of coastline, and consequently the police and fire departments of that city need advanced boats that can fight crime, fires, and respond to disasters in the water. The Three Forty Three, named after the 343 firefighters who died on 9/11, will soon replace a firefighting vessel launched in 1954. At a cost of $27 million, it has a crane that can extend fifty feet over the water, a decontamination shower, and an on-board triage center:

•The vessel is the longest and heaviest fireboat in the world, Mr. Cassano said. Its speed is about double that of the McKean, and it pumps about 50,000 gallons of water a minute — about 30,000 more than the McKean. (A regular fire truck pumps about 1,000 gallons a minute.) For fuel fires, the new boat has 3,600 gallons of foam concentrate; the McKean had 500.

•The Three Forty Three has a pressurized cabin, "and there will be filters for the air so we can get close to a hot zone," said Mr. Cassano, referring to chemical spills. "In the past, if we knew there was a chemical incident we couldn't get very close."

Link via Fast Company | Image: New York Times