Wow. That's a lot of federal tax dollars. I wonder what they actually use this kind of boat for and how often it gets used. The one incident mentioned here was from 1989. Nk
Does have to deal with the port. But still....good grief.

When NK has to cover the 5th largest port, the Jamestown and Newport bridges for jumpers, vessels taking on water, incidents on the islands, and the fact that every department south of us up until mystic Connecticut has no fire boat. We're a seaside town were not scituate or foster. We need a boat that can stay in the water year round and be functional with out any worries. If you are out in the bay and your boat is taking on water are you going to want to have to wait for the nearest operationing boat ?? Not me

Rhodyresident, isn't a lot of what you listed the Coast Guard's responsibility?

Rhode Island has what is called a Strike team. Providence, warwick Cranston east providence and east Greenwich are the main boats consisting of that team. During the summer months NK is in that team. But the boat we have now is not in operation cause of the seasons. The coast guard assists in many of the searchs and incidents. I believe NK has the largest area to cover as well. The coast guard is out there to help

Those boats spend more time in dry dock than in the water just ask Warwick, EP, Cranston and Prov. Waste of money.... Fire pumps and salt water don't mix... I also wonder why they send five boats to Newport to search for a jumper, has anyone seen a person survive the fall????? Nope.

Last year someone jumped from the Jamestown bridge and lived.. Get your facts straight before you make useless uneducated comments

#1 - The federal government is handing the town of nk almost 832k for a fireboat. If Nk Fire didn't apply for this grant, the The money would have just went to some other community. The gov has a list of applicants from all over the country, and awards per each communities need, until the total allocation is exauasted.

#2 Nk Firefirefighters wrote the grant voluntarily because they saw the need for the community. So thank you NkFfs for going above and beyond for the community, as I'm sure none of you will see a bonus for giving your employer almost 832k this year.

#3 The boat would be cross manned, nobody is asking for this as an excuse or more personnel. Stop with the BS.

#4 you want a commercial deep water mega port, with it comes needed safety measures.

#5 the coast guard does respond to vessels in distress, however local resources 90% of the time beat the CG. The only CG boats r in Castle Hill, and gallilee. Narra bay is huge

Have a fantastic day....

I said Newport.. Learn to read!!!

I am 99.9% pro fire department. Exception, these piece of $hit boats that they get. Just ask these communities how much they cost for new engines, jet drives etc.... Newport was the only smart community that turned it down.

Stanley, your right to some degree about boats in dry dock. However, the reason the above mentioned communities boats were in dry dock was because of a serious defect In the motors. From what I hear, there was a flaw with the cummins motors that caused the engine to take in seawater. Therefore destroying the motors. The boats were all of the same make, and manufacturer because they were bought as a package deal with grant moneys.

So, the reason they were always tied up was because they were mechanically deadlined, not Because they we're not needed.

Your comment about pumps and salt water are way off. If that's the case then they should stop making boats period because engines, metals, and wood all don't mix with saltwater. As long as equipment used in saltwater Is properly maintained they provide decades of service.

Every community since providence got theirs have said the same thing. "We learned from previous mistakes". Yet they are always down for repair. Even the new ones. Yes with maintenance the pumps work better, but they still die out far to quick. It just seems to me that these boats become more of a burden than that of a "quick response boat". But hey, what do I know... And yes it is a grant and some community if not NK would get the boat, but that is what is wrong with our federal government they just throw this equipment around without any fiscal responsibility. Use the money for jobs not crappy boats. And yes I know there are separate grants for that.... My question is why do we need 5 of these boats?

Why waste a $832,000 grant since it's free money. I vote that NK purchase’s the boat giving it to the FD allowing them to maintain and staff it out of the existing FD budget, NKFD will have a new boat, residents will be safe and best of all, it won't cost NK taxpayers a dime. Sounds like an all-around win to me.

NK voter they are not hiring new firefighters to staff a boat! But the town will have no choice but to hire atleast 15 new firefighters once the judge comes down with the decision on the old schedule!!!.... FYI supposedly there is a grant to hire new firefighters also ... Maybe the town will finally smarten up and accept that too .. New boat new firefighters ... Now that's a win win.

Why wait for the judge's decision......especially if there is "more" "free" grant money. I vote that NK hire's the (at least) 15 FF's for the FD allowing them to pay their salary and benefits out of the existing FD budget, NKFD will have the additional FF, residents will be safe and best of all, it won't cost NK taxpayers a dime. Sounds like a win to me.

Excellent news that you as a representative of the NKFD, agree that any additions (staff, benefits, boats etc etc) will come out of the existing FD budget AND NK resident's will not see a tax increase as a result of FF's demands. I'm sure the town council will also be appreciative of your reasonable requests.
Have a great day ....

I'm just a informative taxpayer of this town, I work in the private industry as a software engineer i am not affiliated with a union a fire department or the town and in no way have I ever said I was a representitive for the NKFD or the town so please do not make false accusations !!

You and I both know the truth..... and I was beginning to believe that we might be on the same page. Please don't erode your credibility just as it's beginning to mean something.

I think it's interesting that we could add 10 or 15 employees and they are already in the budget!! Talk about smoke and mirrors as far as budgeting.

This fire boat will be an asset to the Town of North Kingstown for many years to come.

http://www.mrctv.org/videos/ed-asner-narrates-tax-rich-animated-fairy-tale

Firefighters, teachers, police officers....take a peek at this short video. It cuts right the the chase of why we suffer the debates of the day.

Guessing that seed and soil works as a public employee.....do you really care about the average person struggling to get by.
RI resident’s fortunate and less fortunate alike, as all is public information - compare public employee's pay and benefits to private industry asking yourself where your tax dollars are really going.

It's not that public employees pay went up its the rich private companies that pay their workers crap... I thought that video was pretty spot on.

Ok Stanley, since you seem to be in the know I would like you to enlighten me and many others. How 'bout we start with retirement and work backwards shall we......
Curious as to how public employee pension and private aka SS pensions compare?
Curious as to how public employee health insurance and private aka medicare benefits compare?

I've stopped listening to your garbage a long time ago CR. Not gonna waste my time with the rich republicans fearful of losing their millions...

Yep, as much as I figured when you are presented with any that will prove you wrong you run away......talk about garbage!
Look forward to you campaigning for higher taxes to pad your pay, benefits and pension. Enjoy!

While this is all wonderful to get a boat with grant funding, but the bigger question that should be asked is what the annual maintenance going to cost the town? Many of these boats do sit in drydock over the winter for maintnenace. I would ask how many rescues requests are made for water rescue in a year? If it is under 10, then I would question the need for the boat. Your dealing with tight budgets and people out of work, losing their homes. Unfortunately, it looks like we will have to revisit those years (30's to the 50's) when none of these vessels were available. What did people do then with water rescues? Call the Coast Guard and hope. While having this kind of boat is nice, I question how the maintenance will be funded.

Story in the projo said the previous boat was used for 58 hours last year. Lets do the math on that one.

There are so many unsupported opinions here I don't know where to start!
Does anyone know the USCG's mission capabilities?
Have any of you ever conducted a search on the bay or open water?
Who owns or even knows what a jet drive looks like or how it works?
Did you all miss the 5 year warrantee the rescue boat comes with?
Let's start with that.

Question 1: Coast Guard's missions include life safety, port security, and many areas of law enfrorcement(drugs, boating safety, etc. Station Castle Hill is responsible for the entire stretch of Narragansett Bay and so many miles out in RI Sound.
Question 2: Yes, I have conducted many searches in the Bay, Sakonett River, and RI Sound; above and below the surface. Lots of current and as most of us know, mother nature can turn things around pretty quick. All too often, that's when most get in trouble and require personel and equipment going out in less-than-ideal conditions.
Question 3: A jet drive is nothing more than a large, high-power pump. Sea water is drawn in through the bottom of the boat and discharged through a directional nozzle proppeling the boat. Great for shallow water and diving operations as there are no exposed propellers. Some fire boats can even use a diverter valve to turn the jet drive into a fire pump. The valve turns 90% of the jet drives output into a firefighting stream and the remaining 10% maneuvers the boat. Saves money buy not requiring a second diesel motor and pump assembly. This entire assembly os usually made of stainless steel and bronze, making them less prone to corrosion.

Doesn't the NKFD have a Maintenance division consisting of 2 mechanics? They could perform the maintenance on the new boat, all the stuff that is not covered under the warranty like bottom paint, fluids, cleaning etc. I'm sure it wouldn't cost as much as everyone thinks

Taxpayer-200, I am well aware of these boats... FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE... They suck and will only cost more and more money. They breakdown too often, they arent made well, pumps corode, Put the money elsewhere.. No one can answer my question. We already have four of these in the bay, why do we need five? They all chase the same calls.

TaxPayer-2oo, I'm sure that the Moose boat will be better than the boats owned by the northern municipalities, but to insinuate that someone in distress on the bay will have to wait an extra 30 minutes for EP to provide assistance is disingenuous. If you have any idea how public and PRIVATE entities respond to real distress in NK waters, you know that real distress on Narragansett Bay gets an amazingly effective response from all entities.

Last I checked my car doesn't cost 900k and I don't drive it in the water. Nice comparison. What makes a moose boat any different than providence, Cranston, EP and warwicks boats? NOTHING

There are no free boats!