The new boats are twice as fast as the two previous vessels and can reach speeds of forty knots
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has welcomed London Fire Brigade’s new fire boats to the Thames as part of a £40 million investment made by City Hall to expand the Brigade’s fleet of equipment and vehicles, London Fire Brigade said in its media release.
The two new boats are named after Auxiliary Fireman Harry Errington and Auxiliary Firewoman Gillian Tanner, who in the Second World War were both awarded medals for bravery.
The Mayor has committed to modernising and transforming the Brigade’s rescue resources – which includes investing in Europe’s first 64m ladders, new 32m ladders and two new replacement fire boats – so that the Brigade is better prepared, organised and equipped to fight fires and save lives anywhere in London.
On Thursday (Sep 1), the Mayor met crews from Lambeth River Station and was shown some of the high-tech equipment on board. The new boats are twice as fast as the two previous vessels and can reach speeds of forty knots. They can carry more life-saving equipment than ever before. As well as hoses that allow crews to fight fires from the river, the boats are fitted with a hydraulic crane for carrying out rescues from the water and a high-definition thermal imaging camera.
After he disembarked the boat, the Mayor visited a range of some of the Brigade’s latest equipment, including our new 64m and 32m turntable ladders, our new fire rescue unit and a Heavy Demountable Unit (HDU) unit (capable of transporting large quantities of foam to extinguish large fires).
The call signs for the boats are H23A and H23B, a reference to Adam Mere and Billy Faust, two London firefighters who died fighting a fire in 2004.