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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
CFAV Firebird was a Fire-class fireboat in the Royal Canadian Navy designed by Robert Allan Ltd. Firebird was based in CFB Halifax, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.[1] Her sister ship CFAV Firebrand is based in CFB Esquimalt.
CFAV Firebird in Halifax | |
History | |
---|---|
Canada | |
Name | Firebird |
Operator |
|
Builder | Vancouver Shipyards, North Vancouver |
Commissioned | 1978 |
Out of service | 4 December 2014 |
Homeport | CFB Halifax |
Identification | YTR 561 |
Status | Removed from service 4 December 2014 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Class and type | Fire-class fireboat |
Displacement | 140 tonnes (138 long tons) |
Length | 23.1 m (75 ft 9 in) |
Beam | 6.4 m (21 ft) |
Draught | 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 11 knots (13 mph; 20 km/h) |
Complement | 5 |
Equipment: | 3 × manually-controlled 3-inch (7.6 cm) water cannon 2 × diesel-driven fire pumps, 2,500 gpm at 150 psi each |
Her three water cannons can fire water, or fire suppressant foam from her two 250 gallon tanks.[1]
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,[2] and later acquired by the Canadian Forces.
The two ships displaced 140 tonnes (138 long tons) and were 23.1 metres (75 ft 9 in) long, with a beam of 6.4 metres (21 ft) and a draught of 2.6 metres (8 ft 6 in). The ships were powered by two 365 horsepower (272 kW) azimuthing Z-drives and one hydraulic tunnel bow thruster. This gave the vessels a maximum speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). The ships had a crew of five firefighters.[3]
The Fire class was equipped with three manually-controlled 3-inch (76 mm) water cannons, two diesel-driven fire pumps capable of expending 2,500 gpm at 150 psi each.
On 22 March 2001 a large container vessel, Kitano, one day out of New York City, requested help fighting an onboard fire after she had gone to sea.[4] Because of the extreme weather, Firebird was unable to leave the protected waters of Halifax Harbour to go to Kitano's aid; larger Navy vessels were dispatched instead.
Firebird suppressed a serious fire in HMCS Toronto's engine room in 2005.[1] In 2008, the firefighting ship aided the Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency department in extinguishing a fire aboard a former Canadian Coast Guard ship CCGS Tupper.[5]
In January 2014 it was announced that Firebird's time available for firefighting operations would be cut back due to budget reductions and that all operations on weekends would be suspended.[5] It was announced that on 4 December 2014, Firebird was taken out of service and declared surplus.[3]
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