Fire Department Gets New Rescue Boat

The Fredericksburg Fire Department now has a new, larger and more powerful boat to use on river rescues. 

The Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation donated a 25-horsepower inflatable motor boat to the fire department on Aug. 12. The new boat can carry six people, twice as much as the old river rescue boat. The 25-horsepower motor is significanly more powerful than the old boat, which sported an 8-horsepower motor. 

The boat will be maintained in a state of readiness on a rack made by Carico Fabricors. On the riverside rack, the new boat will be able to be launched directly into the water in a mater of moments. 

"These features are critical to emergency response, as other boat deployments are often delayed due to their transport on boat trailers, and many rescue boats are unable to power upstream of the Falmouth Bridge," wrote City Manager Beverly Cameron in a memo. 

The donation of the boat comes on the heels of a dramatic river rescue on Aug. 7 which saw

Since 1972, 85 people have met their end in the Rappahannock. The last river death in the area happened in June of 2008. 

 According to Fredericksburg police records, in 2008 city rescue units responded to seven water rescues. In 2009, the number jumped to 42. Last year, the number declined to 26.

Along the shores near Fredericksburg, a water rescue situation is almost always is a dual-jurisdiction response, with rescue units from both Stafford County and the City of Fredericksburg deployed to their respective shores.