Watching the waterways

By Dan Hilborn
Published Oct. 28, 2005


Thankfully, it rarely gets called out for an emergency.

But if a major fire or accident ever occurs along the sprawling industrial lands along the Burrard Inlet waterfront, the Burnaby fire department will be ready to respond.

On a sunny afternoon, Captain Darrell Smith and a crew of firefighters from the Duthie Street hall took a Burnaby NOW reporter and photographer out for a test run of the 12-year-old 'fast response' emergency response vessel. And what they showed us should make any waterfront property owner glad that they're around.

Based out of the PetroCan dock on the Barnet Highway, the 12.2- metre (40-ft.) vessel is one of five fireboats that patrols the area known as Vancouver harbour stretching from the Point Roberts Superport to False Creek, Coal Harbour, Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm.

Burnaby shares Fireboat No. 3 with the Port Moody fire department and, every second day, it is our city's turn to make sure the boat is in tiptop running condition and ready to respond at a moment's notice.

On this day, instead of simply checking the fluid levels and firing up the engine, the crew agreed to take the boat out on a short afternoon run to show off its impressive speed and water- throwing capabilities. (Burnaby's usual boat was out of service to repair a faulty alternator, so we used the services of Fireboat No. 5 for the day.)

"I was one of the first fireboat operators on my shift about a dozen years ago," said Smith, who usually spends his days with the department's high angle rescue team. Today, he was filling in as captain of the ship that had a crew of firefighters Dan Walton, Travis Weir and Mike Buntain.

Our pilot for the afternoon was Walton, who, like all fireboat operators, successfully completed a program at the Pacific Marine Training Institute before being allowed to take the helm of the 12,250-kg (13.5-tonne), aluminum-hulled boat.

"Personally, I like the water," said Walton, who has a speedy Malibu Wakesetter at home. And so, after his colleagues check the fluid levels and other pre-trip necessities, he fires up the two Detroit Diesel Model 6-71T1 engines that power the twin waterjets.

While the fireboat is capable of speeds upwards of 29 knots - just a little more than 53 kilometres or 33 miles per hour - Walton keeps the speed down to a more leisurely pace until we are past the boundary of Barnet Marine Park and the many privately owned pleasure boats that are docked along the north shoreline.

"If there's an emergency, we go full bore," said Smith.

And when the boat reaches open water, Walton pushes on the throttle and the twin waterjets jump to life, lifting the bow of the boat as we cruise westward.

The first demonstration is of their rescue technique, and Buntain throws a foam float overboard before proving how easily the crew can swing the ship around and pluck an object out of the water. The entire exercise takes about 20 seconds, and nobody breaks a sweat.

Next, we cruise towards a large wooden 'dolphin,' or piling, at the western edge of Barnet Marine Park for a demonstration of the ship's waterthrowing capabilities.

While a small group of beachgoers gather on the shore to watch, Walton flips the switch to activate the two 'monitors' - onboard fire hoses - that can throw 4,500-litres (1,200 gallons) of sea water per minute. The spray is impressive, and in a short time, the large wooden structure is soaked through.

Keeping the spray focussed on one spot while the water pumps are pushing the vessel in different directions is the one exercise that demands the most practice, says Walton. And to accomplish this tricky task, the vessel is equipped with two bow thrusters and a set of buckets over the rear waterjets that work in tandem to hold the boat steady.

The bowthrusters help to prevent the vessel from moving left or right while the buckets point the jet spray downward, helping to arrest the forward and backward motion of the vessel.

"This is what takes the most practice," said Walton as he teased the controls slightly to keep the vessels pointed in the proper direction. "If you don't do it properly, you can actually get the boat spinning."

For five minutes, the fireboat sprays the wooden pilings, as Walton slowly manoeuvres the vessel a little to the left and a little to the right to ensure that every square inch of the target is soaked.

Our next demonstration is the emergency stop procedure, which also requires the use of the buckets over the waterjets.

"The fireboat can stop on a dime," said Smith. "We can be going full bore, and then stop within 40 feet."

Walton points the vessel towards open water and pushes the throttle to full while the crew and passengers brace themselves on the many handholds inside the cabin. With the flick of a switch, the bow of the fireboat lifts only slightly, and the sudden stop is surprising smooth.

The vast majority of the department's work on the fireboat is training and maintenance, but it does occasionally get called into service.

Smith said the most serious blaze the local fireboat has battled was the November, 2001 fire that caused $2 million damage and destroyed several large boats at the Reed Point Marina. The quick response of the fireboat - which was manned by the Port Moody fire department that night - helped to prevent the fire from spreading throughout the large marina.

The fireboats are also put on-call once per month when a barge loaded with propane gas is shipped out of the TransMountain Pipeline terminal in Burnaby, one of many petroleum-related industries on the city's waterfront. "They shut the harbour down when that goes out," said Smith.

This summer, the fireboat has received several calls for service, but the majority were false alarms. A small brush fire near Silver Falls, on the west side of Indian Arm Provincial Park, was the most serious blaze this year but, even then, the crew was back at their fire hall within a few hours.

Communication is key in the firefighting business, and the cabin of the fireboat is home to a vast array of radios, loud hailers and other electronic equipment including a GPS locator and digital compass.

The other four Vancouver harbour fireboats are based out of False Creek, Canada Place, Lonsdale Quay and Deep Cove.