Boat Gives Connecticut Town New Firefighting Tool

Greenwich, Conn., is expected to take delivery early next year of its first fire boat, several months after the town discovered it could not adequately fight fires during Superstorm Sandy.

Three homes were destroyed during the Oct. 29 storm and Greenwich learned it could not fight the fires from adjacent Long Island Sound.

The Greenwich Time reports that the 39-foot boat fights fires with sea water, detecting a full arsenal of hazardous materials and leading search-and-rescue missions. A federal homeland security grant is paying for the $600,000 boat.

Public safety officials do not want to imply that the boat would have saved the homes during the storm. Police Lt. John Brown says the Coast Guard shut down Long Island Sound.

But local officials say a fire boat provides another firefighting tool.