Challenger (Long Beach fireboat)

Last updated
The Challenger, a Long Beach California fireboat -a.jpg

The Challenger is a fireboat built for the Long Beach California Fire Department. She and her sister ship the Liberty were commissioned in 1987. They replaced two older vessels. [1] Within a year both vessels developed serious corrosion problems, due to poor choice of alloys, and the joints between different metals.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the vice president of Moss Point Marine, Vince Almerico, said "If the port wanted entirely rust-free vessels it could have specified use of stainless steel for everything at a much higher cost." [1]

The vessels were 88 feet long, and their five water cannons were capable of pumping water or foam at 10,000 gallons per minute. [1]

The two vessels cost $2.2 million each, in 1987 dollars, and, by September 1988 the Long Beach Harbor Commission had to allocate an addition $883,000 to repair the construction problems. [1] [2]

The Challenger and the Liberty were delivered in a red livery with black trim, while the two older fireboats they replaced were grey. [1] The maintenance problems had such a serious effect on crew morale that the Los Angeles Times reported crew members had put up a sign, saying, the city should sell the red ones and keep the grey ones.

The Challenger and the Liberty are scheduled to be replaced by more modern fireboats in 2014. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cerritos, California</span> City in California, United States

Cerritos is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is one of several cities that constitute the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. It was incorporated on April 24, 1956. As of 2019, the population was 49,859. It is part of the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim, California Metropolitan Statistical Area designated by the Office of Management and Budget.

<i>Duwamish</i> (fireboat)

Duwamish was one of the most powerful fireboats in the United States several times over her 75-year working life. She is the second oldest vessel designed to fight fires in the US, after Edward M. Cotter, in Buffalo, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Los Angeles</span> Harbor in Los Angeles, California

The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department, a unit of the City of Los Angeles. It occupies 7,500 acres (3,000 ha) of land and water with 43 miles (69 km) of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "America's Port", the port is located in San Pedro Bay in the San Pedro and Wilmington neighborhoods of Los Angeles, approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of downtown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fireboat</span> Firefighting vessel

A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipment. Older designs derived from tugboats and modern fireboats more closely resembling seafaring ships can both be found in service today. Some departments would give their multi-purpose craft the title of "fireboat" also.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station</span> Permanently closed nuclear power plant located south of San Clemente, California

The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) is a permanently closed nuclear power plant located south of San Clemente, California, on the Pacific coast, in Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV. The plant was shut down in 2013 after replacement steam generators failed; it is currently in the process of decommissioning. The 2.2 GW of electricity supply lost when the plant shut down was replaced with 1.8 GW of new natural-gas fired power plants and 250 MW of energy storage projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Long Beach</span> Container port near Los Angeles, California

The Port of Long Beach, also known as the Harbor Department of the City of Long Beach, is a container port in the United States, which adjoins Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for US–Asian trade, the port occupies 3,200 acres (13 km2) of land with 25 miles (40 km) of waterfront in the city of Long Beach, California. The Port of Long Beach is located less than two miles (3 km) southwest of Downtown Long Beach and approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Downtown Los Angeles. The seaport generates approximately $100 billion per year in trade and employs more than 316,000 people in Southern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort St. Vrain Generating Station</span> Natural gas-fired powerplant

Fort Saint Vrain Generating Station is a natural gas powered electricity generating facility located near the town of Platteville in northern Colorado in the United States. It currently has a capacity of just under 1000MW and is owned and operated by Xcel Energy, the successor to the plant's founder, the Public Service Company of Colorado. It went online in this form in 1996.

<i>Kanimbla</i>-class landing platform amphibious

The Kanimbla class was a class of amphibious transport ships operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Two ships were purchased by Australia in 1994 and modified. Problems during the handover process and the need to repair previously unidentified defects meant the ships did not enter operational service until the end of the decade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Coastal Commission</span> State agency with quasi-judicial regulatory oversight over coastal zone

The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is a state agency within the California Natural Resources Agency with quasi-judicial control of land and public access along the state's 1,100 miles (1,800 km) coastline. Its mission as defined in the California Coastal Act is "to protect, conserve, restore, and enhance the environment of the California coastline".

Port Disney was a planned Walt Disney resort spanning 443 acres (179 ha) surrounding Queensway Bay next to the Port of Long Beach in Long Beach, California, United States. The property was going to feature a marine-themed amusement park, a marina, a cruise ship port, a specialty retail and entertainment area, and hotel accommodations. The land it would occupy housed the RMS Queen Mary and the Hughes H-4 Hercules aircraft, both of which were obtained by Disney in its acquisition of the Wrather company in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Harbor Light</span> Lighthouse at the Port of Los Angeles in California, United States

Los Angeles Harbor Light, also known as Angels Gate Light, is a lighthouse in California, United States, at San Pedro Breakwater in Los Angeles Harbor, California. The lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is listed as Los Angeles Light in the USCG Lights list. It is the only lighthouse in the world that emits an emerald-colored light.

<i>Ralph J. Scott</i> (fireboat) Historic LA Fire Department vessel

Ralph J. Scott, also formerly known as Fireboat #2, is a 100-foot (30 m) fireboat that was attached to the Los Angeles Fire Department serving the Port of Los Angeles. She was retired in 2003 after 78 years and replaced by Warner L. Lawrence. Ralph J. Scott is undergoing restoration near the Los Angeles Maritime Museum in San Pedro. On 30 June 1989, she was listed as a National Historic Landmark. She is currently located at the Los Angeles Fire Department, Fire Station 112, at 444 South Harbor Blvd, Berth 86, San Pedro, California.

<i>Alki</i> (boat)

The Alki is a fireboat noted for its long service in Seattle, Washington. The boat was built in 1927 and is 123 feet (37 m) long. She was Seattle's third fireboat. She was built with gasoline engines, which were replaced with diesels in 1947. The new engine retrofit allowed the Alki to increase its pumping capacity from 12,000 gallons per minute to 16,200 gallons per minute. She replaced the Snoqualmie, Seattle's first fireboat.

<i>John H. Glenn Jr.</i> (fireboat)

The John H. Glenn Jr. is a fireboat stationed on the Potomac and Anacostia rivers in Washington, D.C. Her bow was reinforced in 1984, allowing her to also serve as an icebreaker during the winter.

<i>Phoenix</i> (fireboat) Fireboat owned by State of California

Phoenix is a fireboat owned by State of California and operated by the city of San Francisco in the San Francisco Bay since 1955. Phoenix is known for helping to save Marina District buildings from further destruction by fire following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Her worthy assistance resulted in a second vintage fireboat obtained for the city. Both Guardian and Phoenix are based at Firehouse No. 35 at Pier 22½ of the Port of San Francisco. Phoenix often leads parades of ships, and takes part in welcoming ceremonies.

<i>Protector</i> (fireboat)

The City of Long Beach, California started to operate a new fireboat, now known as the Protector, in May 2014. The vessel was known as Fireboat 20, until she was officially commissioned, on June 8, 2016. A sister ship will follow within a year. The two new vessels will replace the Challenger and the Liberty, commissioned in 1987. The earlier vessels had a troubled maintenance record. She will be one of the most powerful fireboats in the world.

The Long Beach Fire Department of the city of Long Beach, California owns and operates Fireboats in Long Beach, providing fire protection and rescue services for the Port of Long Beach and the marina and beach areas of the city of Long Beach Although administered separately, the port facilities of Los Angeles and Long Beach are adjacent, and together, form one of the largest container ports in the world. The cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach have a mutual aid arrangement where one will loan fireboats to the other in case of need.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fireboat Tiburon</span> Modern fireboat

The Fireboat Tiburon is a modern 35 feet (11 m) fireboat acquired by Tiburon, California's fire department in 2006. Two thirds of the vessel's cost was paid through a Port security grant from FEMA, a sub-agency of the Department of Homeland Security. She replaced a used vessel acquired from the Los Angeles Fire Department in 2003.

The City of Houston and the Houston Port Authority have operated seven fireboats in Houston. The Port authority currently manages three fireboats in Houston.

<i>Vigilance</i> (fireboat)

Vigilance is a fireboat operated by Long Beach, California. It is the second of two large fireboats Long Beach commissioned and the largest on North America's West Coast.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Chris Woodyard (1988-04-27). "2 Long Beach Fireboats Gathering Rust". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2014-05-16. After spending $4.4 million for two state-of-the-art fireboats, the Port of Long Beach is struggling to keep the vessels from becoming floating rust buckets.
  2. Chris Woodyard (1988-09-29). "Long Beach to Spend $883,000 to Save 2 Fireboats". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 2014-05-16. Retrieved 2014-05-16. The commission is paying $653,000, the largest chunk of the funds, to a Terminal Island boatyard to correct design and construction deficiencies and to fix corrosion damage on the twin $2.2-million Challenger and Liberty, which were delivered to the city within the past two years.
  3. "Powerful fireboat christened at Foss Maritime". Marine Log. 2014-04-15. Archived from the original on 2014-05-16. Fireboat 20 and its sister are replacements for two older fireboats, the Liberty and Challenger.