Fire-class fireboat
| Equipment: | 3 × manually-controlled water cannons 2 × diesel-driven fire pumps, 2,500 gpm at 150 psi each |
The Fire-class fireboats/yard tractor tugs were two fireboats operated by the Royal Canadian Navy. The two vessels are and.
Design and construction
Firebird was based at CFB Halifax, and Firebrand at CFB Esquimalt. According to the Canadian American Strategic Review the class was designed by naval architects Robert Allan Limited, and were built at Vancouver Shipyards in North Vancouver in 1978, and later acquired by the Canadian Forces.The two ships displaced and were long, with a beam of and a draught of. The ships were powered by two azimuthing Z-drives and one hydraulic tunnel bow thruster. This gave the vessels a maximum speed of. The ships had a crew of five firefighters.
The Fire class was equipped with three manually-controlled water cannons, two diesel-driven fire pumps capable of expending 2,500 gpm at 150 psi each.
Ships in class
Service history
In 2008, Firebird helped extinguish a fire aboard the former Canadian Coast Guard vessel in Halifax harbour.On 4 December 2012 the Department of National Defence published a Letter of Interest /Request for Information for Canadian shipbuilders interested in building replacements for the Glen-class tugs¸ and Fire-class fireboats.
A single class would replace both the tugs and the fireboats, and would be operated by civilian crews. The replacement vessels would have water cannons that could be controlled remotely, by a single individual. The replacement vessels would have bollard pull of 40 tons—almost six times as much as the 7.5 tons the Fire-class vessels are capable of.
On 29 January 2014, the availability of Firebird to fight fires was reduced due to budget cuts, being on standby only during weekdays during normal working hours. On 4 December 2014, Firebird was taken out of service in Halifax, and placed on the disposal list as a result of budget cuts. The ship will be replaced using tugboats from around the harbour.