VIDEO: One of the most powerful pieces of firefighting equipment in Central Florida got underway with the shattering of a champagne bottle on Wednesday.
The 3,000-horsepower fireboat is ready to stand guard over the rebirth of the cruise industry. It takes a huge set of water cannons to protect a ship like the 6,500 passenger Carnival Mardi Gras. However, the biggest and latest of cruise ships would need more than water if a fire broke out.
The Mardi Gras is the first cruise ship in the U.S. to be fueled by liquefied natural gas, LNG. Putting out an LNG fire is a different sort of job.
“It’s very easy to control if you have the right stuff. And now we have the right stuff,” Port Canaveral Fire Chief Dave Sargeant said.
That’s because the port has a new fireboat that is armed with the right stuff.