For Big Apple, huge fireboats.[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For several days following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, firefighters in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. relied on two half-century-old fireboats for urgently needed water, as downtown water mains had been severed. The boats each pumped 20,000 gallons of water per minute from the Hudson River Hudson River River, New York, U.S. Originating in the Adirondack Mountains and flowing for about 315 mi (507 km) to New York City, it was named for Henry Hudson, who explored it in 1609. Dutch settlement of the Hudson valley began in 1629. to the wreckage of the World Trade Center's collapsed twin towers. Eight years later, New York City is replacing its aged vessels with a pair of fireboats that each can pump 50,000 gallons of water per minute up to five miles inland. At 140 feet long, they are the largest fireboats in the world, says the manufacturer. They have forward ballast tanks that can raise and lower the boats in the water to match the deck levels of ferries, in case one needed to be evacuated. The fireboats also feature pressurized areas that protect crews from biological, chemical, radiological and nuclear agents. "It's been exciting because of what these boats represent," says Mike Yriondo, contracts manager for the Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group, which in 2007 won a $54 million contract to build the two ships. The Department of Homeland Security Noun 1. Department of Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States provided $40 million in grants, and New York City paid the rest. The first boat, named Three Forty Three in honor of the 343 fire department members who died on 9/11, is scheduled to arrive in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of in December and will be stationed in Manhattan on the Hudson River. The second boat, named Fire Fighter II, is scheduled arrive next spring and will be based on Staten Island. "Clearly, history has shown that we area target, so we would be in need of having these boats," says Frank Dwyer, spokesman for the city's fire department "There are a lot of advancements that make them the best fireboats in the world." |
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