Metal Shark Building Fireboats for Anne Arundel County FD
Louisiana-based boat builder Metal Shark is building two welded-aluminum fireboats for Anne Arundel County Fire Department in Maryland.
The new 50 Defiant NXT monohull pilothouse fireboats were designed by Metal Shark’s in-house engineering team and are now under construction at the company’s Franklin, La. shipyard.
The newbuilds were ordered to replace the department's 20-year-old main fireboat, Lady Anne, delivered from MetalCraft Marine in 2023. The new vessels will offer faster speeds enabling shorter response times, greater pumping volume increasing firefighting effectiveness, and a next-generation design improving efficiency while affording greater safety to firefighters, Metal Shark said.
Among standout features is a climate-controlled pilothouse delivering “mission-enhancing visibility”, Metal Shark said. the builder’s signature “pillarless glass” with reverse-raked windshield significantly reduces blind spots compared to conventional pilothouse fireboats with smaller, framed windows. A unique window arrangement, with a second tier of side windows below the beltline, provides improved downward-angle visibility, crucial while maneuvering alongside smaller vessels or during man-overboard retrieval, while an overhead skylight array provides an unobstructed upward view when operating alongside ships or elevated structures, or during helicopter hoisting operations.
The new 50- by 16-foot fireboats will feature twin inboard diesel waterjet propulsion. Projected top speed is in excess of 45 knots. At 30-knot cruise speed, the vessels are expected to deliver a nominal operating range of approximately 250 nautical miles.
In terms of firefighting capability and water pumping volume, the new vessels will deliver a flow rate in excess of 8,500 gallons per minute (GPM), with twin 3,000 GPM self-priming fire pumps driven via power take-off (PTO) from the main engines. Each pump draws from its own dedicated in-hull sea chest, feeding a central manifold with crossover capability, which in turn supplies the entire system.
From the fire control station at the port helm, flow is directed as desired via electronically-actuated 8-inch slow-close valves with manual backup. The vessels are each equipped with a remote-operated electric rooftop monitor, two aft-mounted monitors, two aft dual handline outlets, and two 5-inch Storz hydrant outlets. Dual 55-gallon reservoirs carry a total of 110 gallons of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) per vessel.
Metal Shark said it has seen significant growth in the fireboat sector, which it attributes to the popularity and success of its recently developed Defiant NXT fireboat line.
“Over the past four years we have worked to develop our technologically advanced Defiant NXT lineup of vessels that are each designed as fireboats from the keel up; a departure from the standard industry practice of adding firefighting equipment and systems to existing multipurpose platforms,” said Dean Jones, Metal Shark’s VP of sales for fire, law enforcement and specialty markets. “This approach allows us to offer the capability and systems of a larger vessel in a smaller and more efficient platform that is easier to maintain. In many instances, these right-sized vessels have allowed agencies to step down to a smaller and more affordable vessel without giving up capability, which directly benefits the agency and the taxpayer.”
Anne Arundel County Fire Department is set to join a growing list of Metal Shark fire-rescue clients across the country. In a 24-month span Metal Shark will have delivered new fireboats to Chicago Fire Department; East Chilton Fire Rescue (Alabama); Everett Fire Department (Massachusetts); Marco Island Fire Rescue, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, and Tampa Fire Department (Florida); Stafford County Fire (Virginia); St. John County Fire (South Carolina); and numerous others.
“Metal Shark is excited to build these next-generation, high-performance fireboats for Anne Arundel County Fire Department, as they will deliver the very latest advancements in fire boat design and technology,” said Metal Shark CEO Chris Allard. “With these new purpose-built vessels, crews will be able to respond faster, cover more distance, and do their jobs more efficiently and safely. This is a big win for the department and the communities it protects and serves.”