SOLOMONS, Md. — In 1995, the Solomons Volunteer Rescue Squad and Fire Department (SVRSFD) launched Boat 3, a firefighting vessel designed to protect the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. Nearly 30 years later, SVRSFD is preparing to replace Boat 3 with a new, larger, and more effective vessel.
“This new boat will be about four times more capable than our current boat, which can operate at 500 gallons per minute (gpm),” said Clifton Buchanan, a lifetime member of SVRSFD and chairman of the committee to replace Boat 3. “The pumps on this boat are advertised at 1,500 gpm, and we’ve seen them sustain up to 2,000 gpm. This isn’t because of new technology exactly, but it’ll help us respond to the increasing number of incidents in our waterways. The ability to detect Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive hazards (CBRNE) is new to this area.”
Buchanan has been with SVRSFD since 2004, when he started as a firefighter. By 2008, he was also a certified emergency medical technician and could operate all the equipment and apparatus used by SVRSFD volunteers. Today, Buchanan’s role centers on training drivers and operators. He volunteered to serve as chair of the committee to replace Boat 3.
“Committee chairs are picked from a small group of operators or captains,” Buchanan said. “Sometimes they’re elected from that group, but sometimes we ask, ‘Who wants to take the reins of this horse or steer this ship?’ That was the case for me and this committee.”
Currently, SVRSFD has two boats in its fleet: Zodiac 3, a 14-foot inflatable vessel manufactured by Zodiac Nautic, and Boat 3, a 28-foot aluminum craft by Winninghoff Boat Builders. Boat 3 is equipped with pumps and jets that allow it to suppress fires on or near waterways.
The new Boat 3 will be a 36-foot aluminum vessel by Metalcraft Marine. In addition to more powerful pumps and jets for firefighting, this vessel will feature increased passenger capacity to facilitate rescues and evacuations. It will also include CBRNE multigas detectors to reduce crew exposure to hazards such as carbon monoxide, liquid petroleum, and natural gas, Buchanan said.
The estimated cost for the new vessel is $1.375 million. At the Nov. 19 Calvert County Board of Commissioners meeting, Department of Public Safety Director Dave McDowell and Grant Writer Barbara Warner announced that Calvert County had been awarded federal funding through FEMA’s Port Security Grant Program. The federal government agreed to provide $600,000 if Calvert County contributed $200,000. According to a memo from Warner, this grant will save Calvert taxpayers $375,000.
Warner explained that SVRSFD selected equipment that was not top-of-the-line but would still offer effective fire suppression and CBRNE protection. For example, on-board cabin filtration was rejected, and the CBRNE detection range was set to one nautical mile rather than 2.5 nautical miles.
County Commissioner Mike Hart expressed concerns about crew safety since these features were not selected. Warner and McDowell explained that the most powerful CBRNE detection and filtration systems would have increased the total cost of the vessel to $1.68 million and added around $20,000 to monthly maintenance costs. SVRSFD determined that using self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and other personal protective equipment (PPE) in conjunction with the one-mile detection systems would be sufficient and cost-effective.
“Metalcraft Marine helped us build and design the vessel to fit our mission,” Buchanan said. “We wanted this vessel to have detection but not necessarily operational capability. When it comes to detection versus operation, there are ways to operate in hazardous environments, and for this boat, that might look more like PPE than cabin filtration. We were weighing what was cost-efficient versus what was sufficient for us to complete our mission.”
In addition to the new boat, SVRSFD plans to construct a lift and slip to allow in-house maintenance. This would cost around $50,000, though the price is difficult to finalize.
“We have plans to go after another grant,” Buchanan said. “The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) waterway grant is a 50/50 grant, which would mean we pay 50%, and the government pays the other 50%. We want to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ money.”
“It’s difficult to get exact price estimates,” Buchanan said. “Contractors can me give a price for today, but not three months from now. The main reason they’re giving me is the price of lumber fluctuating, which we’d need to know to construct the lift. There are particulars we need to know before we can begin.”
The contract to construct the new Boat 3 was submitted on Nov. 26. Members of Buchanan’s committee will meet with Metalcraft Marine in January 2025 to finalize any remaining details and approve construction. The boat should arrive in the waters around Solomons around the end of 2025 or early 2026, Buchanan said.
“It won’t go directly into service,” he added. “First, we’ll do training with neighboring departments, the Sheriff’s office, and the dive team. We’ll conduct equipment testing and familiarization before the boat is in service.”
Like its predecessor, the new Boat 3 will have a 30-year service life, though the CBRNE equipment may only last 15 years and will need to be replaced during that time. The boat will be staffed for incidents or events by SVRSFD crew available at the time, which is typical for operating apparatus like Boat 3 and fire engines.
“Operators would conduct equipment checks before launching for any of a number of incident types: search and rescue, recovery, fire suppression, and now CBRNE,” Buchanan said. “When not directly in service, we’d likely be patrolling nearby waterways and creeks.”
According to Buchanan, previous studies by Calvert County found that Solomons only needs one small and one large boat to secure its waterways and tributaries. At this time, no decision has been made regarding the current Boat 3 once the new vessel is delivered. Its fire pumps were replaced in 2023, and its engines were refitted earlier this year. Buchanan said the craft is in excellent condition for its age, which he attributes to the original build committee, its construction, and the care SVRSFD takes in maintaining its fleet.
Buchanan extended special thanks to his colleagues and committee members: Assistant Chairman and lifetime member Ryonn Taylor; Chief of Department Jonathan Dalrymple; Assistant Chief and lifetime member Joseph Ford Sr.; Deputy Chief of EMS Richard Hargrave; Past Rescue and Fire Chief, President, and lifetime member Bernie Shea; Past Chief and lifetime member Thomas Moore; and President of the SVRSFD, Terry Anderson.
“It’s been hard to find a vessel for these waters, but we’ve finally found one that exceeds our standards,” Buchanan said. “We’re pleased that we could attain federal funding. This was our second attempt at the FEMA Homeland Security grant. I hope the community knows we fought hard and put in the hours to be good stewards of their tax dollars.”
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