The Woodland Beach Volunteer Fire Department and the Anne Arundel County Fire Department announced Thursday a new fireboat is in service.
The new boat at Woodland Beach will reduce response times to water rescue, emergency medical, and fire incidents on the South River, fire officials said.
Fireboat 2 is a surplus Coast Guard 25-foot Defender-class boat. The Defender-class was originally introduced in the Coast Guard in 2002. Its design to handle various Coast Guard missions, including search and rescue, port security, and law enforcement duties, made it easily adaptable to fire department use.
The boat will be docked at the Turkey Point Marina, which has donated a lift to the Woodland Beach Volunteer Fire Department. It will be staffed with a minimum of two members, either WBVFD volunteers or career personnel assigned to the Woodland Beach station.
The county has fire boats in Sandy Point, Shady Side and Annapolis fire department has one in Eastport.
"This is a much-needed asset to the South River and the surrounding area," said WBVFD Chief John Sweeney in a statement. "It was an honor to be able to work in conjunction with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department to assist in making our waterways safer."
The final cost of the project is $105,000. The WBVFD received a $40,000, 508 grant through the Maryland Volunteer Company Assistance fund. WBVFD paid the balance from their proceeds of the county EMS Transport Billing Volunteer Grant program.
According to Sweeney, the project was moved along with the assistance of WBVFD members and local businesses.
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