After taking delivery of a new jet boat in February, the Garibaldi Fire Department is focusing on training personnel to operate the new vessel and has already used the vessel to respond to two emergency calls.
On a recent evening, the Headlight Herald tagged along on a joint-training with Garibaldi Fire and the Netarts-Oceanside Fire District in Netarts Bay and experienced the boat’s capabilities firsthand.
The flat-bottomed, 21-foot, jet-propelled boat is powered by a 2.3-liter Ford Ecoboost engine and is the first of its kind for the county’s first responders. It joins jet skis operated by the Netarts-Oceanside and Nehalem Fire Districts to expand the water-rescue capabilities of local fire departments and districts.
Funding for the $100,000 purchase came from an Oregon Department of Emergency Management grant awarded in 2021, and the vessel was built by River Wild Boats of Grants Pass, Oregon.