Fire Boat Sinks Before Maiden Voyage

When fires happen on or near the water, fire boats are usually the first to respond. This time, the emergency involved one of those boats. A fire boat that the city of Newport News was about to buy sank. "The first report came in at seven o'clock this morning that there was a problem," said Dana Perry of the Newport News Fire Department. When crews got to the Leeward Marina, they found a fire boat tied to a pier with its tail end submerged in the James River. Its red front end was pointing straight in the air. "We haven't even gotten to the point where we've been taking it out for training or anything like that. It still belongs to MetalCraft," said Perry.MetalCraft Marine Inc. built the boat. The Ontario, Canada based company hauled it to the marina just two weeks ago. Workers were still putting equipment onboard when the boat took on water. The company released a statement saying the boat is covered under MetalCraft Marine Incorporated's Builders Risk policy and insurers have been notified of the incident. The city of Newport News had not taken ownership of the boat yet, or paid any taxpayer money for it. Investigators are trying to find the cause of the sinking. The marina has security tapes, which they will use in their investigation.