It was supposed to be a christening for two new fire boats but in an incredible case of irony, one of the boats didn’t make it to Wednesday’s unveiling in Vancouver because it was damaged by fire while it was being transported from Ontario.
“It did have a small fire, yes,” Vancouver Fire Rescue Capt. Jonathan Gormick said, referring to the incident as an “error in shipping.”
“As tragic as it is, there is an irony to there being a fire on a fire boat.”
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The damaged boat has been sent back to MetalCraft Marine in Kingston to be retrofitted and won’t be in service until next year, but dignitaries were on hand Wednesday to welcome the first boat — a high-tech, jet-propelled vessel that one firefighter said will cut response time in half.
The $1.5-million boat also packs a more powerful spray.
“We’re protecting from as far north as Howe Sound down to Delta Port. We need large pumping capacity for events like the port fire or some of the land-based fires we’ve had to protect like the pier fire in Squamish,” Gormick said.
Gormick said he believes the damage to the second boat is being covered by insurance.
– With files from Jordan Armstrong
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