Ossining Chief Wants a New Fireboat

[Guest]

Stephen Blackman

The Journal News

After being forced to commandeer a work boat from a local marina for two rescues on the Hudson River in one week, Ossining Fire Chief Fred Steneck will go before the village Board of Trustees again to request funding for a new $478,000 vessel.

LoHud Article

$478K is more in the field of a yacht than a boat, but if it saves one person, its worth it. as an avid boater i understand the idea for the jets, but how shallow do you really go to "rescue" someone that a prop isn't ideal? i have a 115hp johnson outboard and i can crawl in 16" of water with a draft of 10". jets aren't that great, they get clogged easily and aren't easy to clean out once clogged and is especially bad for a rescue vessel. well i'm sure this stuff was researched, so, best of luck to ofd.

Edited July 3, 2008 by jack10562
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[Guest]

I looked at the website for the boat manufacturer, looks like a prety nice boat.

[helicopper 1,050]

Half a million dollars for 3 miles of riverfront and a short summer/water season seems like a lot.

No other options?

[Guest]

Half a million dollars for 3 miles of riverfront and a short summer/water season seems like a lot.

No other options?

it does seem like a "ship" load of money but for i know nothing about their run numbers, if they have extensive searches/rescues or not, how many of those runs are in dangerous water conditions. so i'll keep it zipped...for now

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

Half a million dollars for 3 miles of riverfront and a short summer/water season seems like a lot.

No other options?

The article said that the fire chief wanted this boat in part because the metal hull would allow the FD to keep the boat in the water all year round.

[Guest]

The article said that the fire chief wanted this boat in part because the metal hull would allow the FD to keep the boat in the water all year round.

bad idea. spend the money to buy a lift. once the boat is docked, it floats above straps that can lift the boat out of the water, and it stays suspended until deployment, and deployment takes seconds to launch. it's not cheap, but when you're looking to spend $480K, another $5K for the lift is peanuts

[Jybehofd 85]

What about getting something surplus from the coast guard??? I know they have alot of cool stuff you just have to get in touch with the right people. There are also some older steel hulls out there that actually preform better then any new one. I just wondering why such a small platform too. Hey if your going to do it do it right you need a 50 foot boat, with a twin engines. But that is just from my experinces from being out to sea.

[helicopper 1,050]

Hey don't misunderstand me! I'm all for the OFD getting a new boat but I can also understand the resistance of the village administration since taxes are such an issue! If the FD reduced the cost, I bet they'd have a much easier time selling it to the village and the public.

Surplus is a valid idea! That's how our aviation unit got started 13 years ago. A lot of excellent equipment is disbursed through the surplus programs.

[Guest]

http://www.metalcraftmarine.com/html/firestorm_30.html

[ex-commish 490]

Half a million dollars for 3 miles of riverfront and a short summer/water season seems like a lot.

No other options?

Aren't there boats siezed by the feds? Perhaps that is an option.

[joetnymedic 43]

gsa website loads of boats there at times and gsa

http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentVi....jsp&P=FBCC

will give to the right people once the paperwork is done. dod also (drms)

http://www.drms.dla.mil/

not just boats either fire trucks, cars radios tons of stuff

Edited July 3, 2008 by joetnymedic

[JCESU 20]

You would think that getting a surplus vessel would be easy, but, its nothing but red tape and in the end your going to get somebody else's headache. The price tag on the boat they have in mind is pretty extravagant to say the least. We were able to put in a bid for 33' Safeboat with most of the bells and whistles (dive ramp etc.) and that was $234K. Even with it being purchased through a grant it has taken over a year. We have a 24' Good Go craft and a 1960's era Bridge Boat from the military (surplus-with diesel jet propulsion). The Good Go is pretty much the SS Minow and the Bridge Boat needs a ton of money to make it sea-worthy. Perhaps they should look into a grant or hiring a Grant Writer to see what's available.

[Tickfighter 0]

I'm all for understanding justifying the need for a boat. But half a million for a new boat? And there are those that say that having career staff is too expensive. Gonna get a lot more for a half million's worth of staff then the half dozen times a year you'll need a boat.

[gamewell45 258]

I'm all for understanding justifying the need for a boat. But half a million for a new boat? And there are those that say that having career staff is too expensive. Gonna get a lot more for a half million's worth of staff then the half dozen times a year you'll need a boat.

Horrible comparsion tick, the boat's a one time expenditure of a half-million, not including maintenance, etc; half million for staff means half million yearly, not including annual pay raises, etc.

[Bnechis 3,961]

I'm all for understanding justifying the need for a boat. But half a million for a new boat?

I think the real question is what do you get in a 1/2 million $ boat that you dont get in one thats 1/2 that price?

About 10 yrs ago, our PD bought a surplus USCG 44' motor lifeboat with a fire pump, metal hull (and it came from the great lakes, so no salt water till it got here). It needed very minor work and was inservice within 2 weeks of arrival. Total cost $40,000.

[Oswegowind 17]

But Barry, is it parade worthy...LOL

I have already spoken my peace on the need for a new boat in Ossining in a previous thread and I stand by it. It is not a necessity given the amount of other available resources. Boats are the new Cascade system. Years ago Buchanan was one of the only ones in Westchester, now everyone has their own in some fashion and Verplanck is discussing buying one. Every department doesn't need every piece of apparatus, doesn't NYC get by with specialty pieces covering at least entire boroughs if not being citywide and don't they actually get the calls? With the way the economy is, remember the new boat will use fuel! Not a wise expenditure in my eyes!