Fire chief mulls ban on flipped boat maker
Last Updated: Thursday, November 19, 2009 | 10:29 AM AT
CBC News
The Halifax Regional Municipality rejected the tender for the Firehawk 28 days after it flipped during tests. (CBC file)The chief of the Halifax Regional Fire Service says he plans to ask lawyers whether a California company can be excluded from supplying the city's next fire boat.
A Firehawk 28 owned by Harbour Guard Boats flipped last year during tests in Halifax harbour. Eight people were plucked from the water. No one was seriously hurt.
In a report Wednesday, the Transportation Safety Board concluded that the $250,000 boat capsized because of an unstable design.
The Halifax Regional Municipality is still looking for a fire boat.
"I certainly don't want to have a piece of equipment that's going to put any of our members at risk," said fire Chief Bill Mosher. "The company did not breach the contract.… The boat just did not meet the specs."
Mosher said he will seek legal advice to determine whether the U.S. company can be excluded from the competition for a new vessel.
The TSB determined that a firefighter was at the controls of the vessel on Sept. 17, 2008, and did a long, slow turn when the boat overturned.
Don Eaves, lead investigator, said there was no problem with how the boat was being driven, nor was it overloaded. He said the boat was unstable.
"Just like an emergency vehicle, it has to be manoeuvreable," he said. "You can just imagine what cases that it might have been in where it might have to bail out of a situation in a hurry. A boat should be able to escape from a situation without the operators worrying about the boat capsizing."
Tim Spooner, spokesman for Harbour Guard Boats, disagrees with the TSB's conclusions. He believes driver error played a role.
"It may not be his fault that he made a mistake on the boat. But mistakes happen, and he did an ill-advised manoeuvre," said Spooner.
Spooner wonders if the fact that his company is American has biased the investigation.
"I think the TSB tried to cover all their bases," he said. "But they might have fell short on being totally objective."
Eaves denies the allegation, saying politics plays no role in the TSB's work.
