The U.S. Fire Administration
says, “A central principle in the fire and rescue service has been that firefighters and rescue personnel do as they practice when called to the scene of an emergency. Like land-based firefighting, shipboard and marine fire emergencies require unique skills to be mitigated effec- tively. These skills must be taught, evaluated, and refreshed regularly to ensure quality performance and firefighter safety.” Port Metro Vancouver, Canada’s
largest port, does not operate its own marine fire department but relies on the city fire department. Notwithstanding, the port commits considerable resources to emer- gency preparedness, response and business resumption. Details are available at the port website http://
www.portmetrovancouver.com/ en/users/securityandemergency/
emergencypreparedness.aspx The Toronto Port Authority op-
erates the fire department at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Airport fire chief Sylvain Thériault is ex Ca- nadian navy and was an instructor at the Fire and Emergency Services Training Institute (FESTI) located at Pearson International Airport prior to accepting his current position. In addition to his duties as fire chief, he is the emergency response and plan- ning manager at Billy Bishop. The airport fire department blends
seamlessly with the Marine Division. They routinely perform drills togeth- er learning each other’s techniques and equipment limitations. For example, the Striker fire trucks have a 6,000-liter neoprene bladder tank to hold water. There is a flow limit to how fast the bladder can be filled without danger of rupture. A normal land-based pumper truck meets this requirement should the Striker need to be to be filled with lake water away from fire station. However, if the MacKenzie fireboat were called
upon to do the pumping, its pumps are so powerful that running them at more than an idle could damage the bladder. Many of the airport fire depart-
ment staff are ex navy and, as such, have superb credentials both on land and in water/ice rescue, which couldn’t be a better fit considering the runways start and end pretty much at the edge of Lake Ontario. Despite very aggressive snow and ice maintenance procedures during the winter months, it is reassuring to know that first responders possess this level of skills.
Marine based firefighting Across North America, ports,
regions and cities approach their emergency response preparedness in different ways because there are no cookie-cutter scenarios. The Hamilton Port Authority op-
erates its own ceremonial fireboat, the Judge McCombs, which dates
Main: Our intrepid publisher video taping Striker fire truck being demonstrated by firefighter Jean-Pierre (JP) Cardinal. Inset: JP at back end of Striker 2.
Photos: Ron Samson 12
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