CFAV Firebird
 CFAV Firebird in Halifax | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Error creating thumbnail: 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 & 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 |
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.
Her three water cannons can fire water, or fire suppressant foam from her two 250 gallon tanks.[1]
Design and construction
[edit | edit source]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.
Operational history
[edit | edit source]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]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).