Fire Flash
A London Fire Brigade fire boat based at the Lambeth River Fire Station, seen participating in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in 2012.
At the time, London Fire Brigade maintained one operational fire boat to respond to incidents and to support the operational crews from its land-based stations. The brigade had a second boat (Firedart) which was used for training and as a reserve when the duty boat needed servicing.
Both were built by Almarintec of Northumberland in 1998. They were driven by two Hamilton water jets. Each unit provides 500 litres per second of thrust being powered by 2 x Volvo TAMD 63 engines producing 370 hp at 2800 rev/min.
The fireboat’s rescue capabilities included three inflatable mud mats, a ‘Jason’s cradle’ for picking up casualties from the river and a bow ramp which can be lowered for beaching and landing on the foreshore. The fire-fighting facilities included a monitor which could deliver water from the Thames at 1850 litres per minute at 10 bars. In addition, the boats had two delivery outlets which could supply water via a hose ashore arrangement for land crews. A separate Hughes noble ejector pump was available for “pumping out” vessels taking on water. The large stable deck area was an ideal working platform for casualty care, and on occasions casualties were even been lowered onto it by helicopter.
Both boats were retired in 2022, being replaced by ‘Tanner’ and ‘Errington,’ two new Welsh-built boats that are faster, can pump more water and are bigger than Firedart and Fire Flash. The names commemorate Harry Errington, the winner of a George Cross, and Gillian Tanner, who was the only female firefighter awarded a George Medal, both during WWII. The new boats' numbers, H23A and H23B, are in memory of two London firefighters, Adam Meere and Billy Faust, who died attending a fire in Bethnal Green in 2004.
Fire Flash
A London Fire Brigade fire boat based at the Lambeth River Fire Station, seen participating in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in 2012.
At the time, London Fire Brigade maintained one operational fire boat to respond to incidents and to support the operational crews from its land-based stations. The brigade had a second boat (Firedart) which was used for training and as a reserve when the duty boat needed servicing.
Both were built by Almarintec of Northumberland in 1998. They were driven by two Hamilton water jets. Each unit provides 500 litres per second of thrust being powered by 2 x Volvo TAMD 63 engines producing 370 hp at 2800 rev/min.
The fireboat’s rescue capabilities included three inflatable mud mats, a ‘Jason’s cradle’ for picking up casualties from the river and a bow ramp which can be lowered for beaching and landing on the foreshore. The fire-fighting facilities included a monitor which could deliver water from the Thames at 1850 litres per minute at 10 bars. In addition, the boats had two delivery outlets which could supply water via a hose ashore arrangement for land crews. A separate Hughes noble ejector pump was available for “pumping out” vessels taking on water. The large stable deck area was an ideal working platform for casualty care, and on occasions casualties were even been lowered onto it by helicopter.
Both boats were retired in 2022, being replaced by ‘Tanner’ and ‘Errington,’ two new Welsh-built boats that are faster, can pump more water and are bigger than Firedart and Fire Flash. The names commemorate Harry Errington, the winner of a George Cross, and Gillian Tanner, who was the only female firefighter awarded a George Medal, both during WWII. The new boats' numbers, H23A and H23B, are in memory of two London firefighters, Adam Meere and Billy Faust, who died attending a fire in Bethnal Green in 2004.