The waters of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, just got safer. Not one, but two, new 50-foot-long fireboats were christened in a ceremony Tuesday and are officially in service.
The fireboats’ names were officially announced as Miss Avalon, operating out of Avalon Shores in southern Anne Arundel County, and Klas-y Lady, a take on the name of Chief Harry Klasmeier, the county’s first and longest serving fire chief. Klas-y Lady will work out of Cape St. Claire. Members of the public and the fire department had input on the vessels’ names.
The twin vessels, Metal Shark Defiant NXT Monohull Pilothouse Fireboats, were made in Louisiana. Metal Shark worked so closely with the department through the build and the training that company reps even came from the Gulf Coast to see the vessels ceremonially christened.
The welded aluminum fireboats have climate-controlled pilothouses with “pillarless glass” and a skylight for excellent visibility, and twin inboard diesel waterjet propulsion with a top speed of 45 knots. At a 30-knot cruising speed, they’re expected to have an operating range of 250 nautical miles.
The water pumping volume is an eye-popping 8,500 gallons per minute, making them more powerful for knocking down flames on a boat, or at a marina or waterfront home.
Chesapeake Bay Magazine got an early opportunity to step aboard one of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department’s two new 50-foot fire boats on Spa Creek the week before the public event. Here’s a peek inside:
The two vessels went into service three years after one of Anne Arundel County’s fireboats sank off Gibson Island while firefighters were training during gale-force conditions.
The new Metal Shark boats are larger and able to handle rougher conditions, the department says. Like the previous fireboat, they have self-draining decks. But they also have higher deck platforms from the water line and better draining capabilities.
As Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman put it at the christening, “Some things happened that we wish didn’t happen… but we turned disaster into opportunity.”
The effort to fund the two new boats began in late 2022, using a combination of state and local money. Firefighters spent hundreds of hours doing rigorous training on the high-tech new boats before they could go into service, Fire Chief Trisha Wolford said.
Anne Arundel County Fire Department Communications Director Capt. Jenny Macallair calls the arrival of the vessels “a new era for the marine division.”
Marine unit members turned out for the christening in sharp dress uniforms, many with their family members attending. The Coast Guard Station Annapolis and the Maryland Natural Resources Police also looked on. Retired firefighter Dan Jarzynski, who started the marine program in the 1970s, gave the toast for the new vessels and their crews. Emotion could be heard in Jarzynski’s voice when he read, “To fair winds, calm seas, and to always be mission-ready.”
With Chief Wolford at the bow of the the Klas-y Lady and Pittman at the bow of Miss Avalon, (non-alcoholic) champagne was poured over the bow of the county’s newest firefighting machines.
