Our fireboats, Tanner and Errington, are stationed at Lambeth river station. These new boats are faster, larger, and can pump more water than the old ones we had in service, performing a variety of tasks beyond firefighting.
They can rescue and tow distressed vessels, and save people and animals from the water or riverside.
They have been built with a flat bottom and a reinforced keel, so we can ‘beach’ the boats on the riverbank and lower our front access ramp without harm.
”The fireboat is a really interesting place to work. We get called to all sorts of emergencies on the Thames from people in the water in need of rescue to fires on boats. We have excellent working relationships with our partners on the Thames, including the Police and RNLI and we often exchange information on risks we have identified"
The new fireboats are named after Auxiliary Fireman Harry Errington GC and Auxiliary Firewoman Gillian Tanner GM, who in the Second World War were both awarded medals for bravery.
Harry Errington was awarded the George Cross after rescuing two fellow firefighters from a basement that had been hit by a bomb during an air raid. Gillian Tanner was awarded a George Medal for her bravery in driving a fuel truck during an air raid, helping to refuel fire engines as they battled fires caused by the bombing.
The boats callsigns, H23A and H23B, are in memory of Firefighters Adam Meere and Billy Faust, two London firefighters who died attending a fire in 2004.
The new boats replace Firedart and Fire Flash, which were built in 1999 by Northumberland-based shipbuilder Alnmaritec. They were in continuous use for over 20 years. Like our new boats, they were specially designed for operating on the Thames, carrying out rescue and firefighting operations.