Port of Long Beach Inaugurates Fireboat Stations to Strengthen Emergency Preparedness

LONG BEACH—Officials March 1 dedicated two new Port of Long Beach fireboat stations that are enhancing the Long Beach Fire Department’s waterside and landside emergency response capabilities, better safeguarding visiting ships, cargo and waterfront workers.

The facilities – Fireboat Station 15 and Fireboat Station 20 – are the products of a $109 million Port of Long Beach program to preserve business continuity, security and economic interests.

“Our new fire stations are state-of-the-art public safety structures that will serve as bases of operations for any incident within the Port and throughout the region,” said Long Beach Fire Chief Dennis Buchanan. “Additionally, these stations have been designed with today’s workforce in mind, which means the assurance of workforce accommodations, such as separate sleeping quarters and restrooms.” 

Fireboat Station 15 is a single-level, 7,750-square-foot building in the port’s outer harbor with living quarters, a garage for two firefighting apparatus trucks and a full wharf with a 16,311-square-foot boat bay enclosure that houses fireboat Vigilance. Construction started in April 2019 and the project was completed in September 2021.

Fireboat Station 20, located in the port’s inner harbor, is a two-level, 9,783-square-foot structure equipped with living quarters, a garage for two firefighting apparatus trucks and a 16,280-square-foot boat bay enclosure that houses fireboat Protector. Construction started in March 2021 and the project was completed in December 2023.

Fireboat Protector entered service in 2016, followed a year later by its companion, Vigilance, heralding advancements in harbor firefighting and emergency response capabilities at the Port of Long Beach. The fireboats are each equipped with 10 water cannons capable of sending up to 41,000 gallons per minute to a distance of up to 600 feet, or the length of two football fields.

With an anticipated lifespan of 50 years, both stations were approved for construction in 2017 by the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners and funded by port revenues.