Tampa Fire Rescue, Florida has taken delivery of a monohull fireboat, designed and built by Metal Shark of Louisiana. The newbuild is the first of two sisters for Tampa Fire Rescue, with the second vessel due for delivery in 2026.
Both boats are of Metal Shark’s 38 Defiant NXT class, which features a length of 12.2m, a 3.66m beam and a hull, deck and superstructure built from corrosion-resistant, welded 5086 aluminium-magnesium alloy plates. Each boat is powered by triple Yamaha outboards, offering a combined output of just over 670kW, and incorporates Yamaha’s HelmMaster controls and joystick operability, for enhanced manoeuvrability in tight spots. The latter was deemed crucial as the boat will be navigating “all waters of Tampa Bay, from downtown Tampa to the barrier island of Egmont Key”, Metal Shark explains. The fireboat will also undertake search and rescue missions across this expanse.
Onboard features include the builder’s NXT emergency medical services (EMS) response cabin, which houses three shock-mitigating crew seats, supplied by SHOXS, plus an EMS bench, firefighting control stations and diver/responder gear storage space. The boat has also been equipped with a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive (CBRNE) detection system, provided by Honeywell, and a cabin filtration and pressurisation package from HDT Global.
The boat is powered by triple Yamaha outboards, offering a combined output of just over 670kW
The boat also features: a urethane-covered, closed-cell foam collar; a dive/rescue ladder; full-height, hinged dive doors, port and starboard; a FLIR thermal imaging system; and storage space for self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and dive tanks. Additionally, the boat has been created with non-skid walkways with low-level lighting, for night-time operations.
The boat utilises a Darley fire pump, drawing from a fully flooded sea chest, delivering 5,678litres per minute via piping and electronically controlled valves to a remote-operated monitor. Metal Shark says: “This configuration enables long-range throw for ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore operations.” The boat also features dual 2.5” handline discharges, a 5” Storz hydrant discharge (for supplying land-based apparatus) and a 150litre quick-fill foam injection system for aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF)-based fire suppression.
Metal Shark adds that it has delivered new fireboats to “over a dozen fire departments” across the US in the space of 18 months.
