Rescue jet boat approved for Perrysburg Twp. Fire Dept.

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LIME CITY — A Raptor shallow water rescue jet boat is going to be added to the rescue tools available to the Perrysburg Township Fire Department.

The new boat is among several transportation upgrades the township trustees approved for first responders at the March 1 meeting.

Trustees approved a Raptor Design and Engineering 2024 SR-XD 2072 – .250 Bottom – 300 HP BRP Rotax for $95,970.

“It’s definitely going to make victim-retrieval, especially if it’s a lifeless body, a lot safer for the rescue people,” Jim Rodriguez, deputy chief, said.

The new craft will be made to order, and is expected to be delivered in about a year.

Fire Chief Tom Brice said that the department’s 2003 Zodiac rescue boat needs to be replaced. The inflatable craft has aged out. After developing pin-hole leaks in 2020, the boat’s skin was patched by the original dealer; the interior has been recoated with latex.

“They said that the best case scenario, that would buy us a couple years,” Brice said.

The department put together a committee in 2021 to look at options. Last November, six committee members, including Brice, went to Pennsylvania to test drive the craft. The river was comparable to the Maumee River, with similar rapids and at historically low levels.

“There aren’t many companies at all that make a craft for shallow water operations. There is one other company, out west, that creates a craft for shallow water operations, and they start at $250,000,” Brice said. “So that was quickly ruled out.”

Brice compared the operation to a jet ski.

Everything needed is included in the price, except for some electronics, which the department plans to source locally.

The 300 horsepower Rotax engine can be serviced locally by jet ski suppliers.

“If we do have to put rescue in the water, it will definitely help with in and out. Currently, with the Zodiac, it’s difficult,” Rodriguez said.

The boat is a lightweight craft, made of aluminum, but with a ¾-inch UHMW plate on the bottom, that Rodriguez described as similar to PVC, which can be replaced. However, it was noted that unlike an engine with a propeller, this jet boat needs only five inches of water depth and can make it over obstacles with a depth of 3 inches.

The jet is considered safer, because it can clear debris by reversing the engine, without needing to have things cleared by hand.

The price includes a trailer and it will be kept at the station, so it can be deployed wherever it needs to be. Due to the shallow draft options, a boat launch ramp is not a necessity.

Swiftwater rescue training was also approved for two firefighters. Tuition is $750 each, but one will be free, due to a cancellation credit the department has.

Brice said it is a premier program, which is utilized by both the New York City and Chicago departments.

The annual contract with Motorola Solutions Inc. was approved for $15,780 for the servicing of the police body camera systems.

Also approved was the purchase and installation of equipment and accessories for additional vehicle lighting from Buckeye Emergency Vehicle Products LLC for $9,891.

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