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The City of Long Beach, California christened a new fireboat, known as ''Fireboat 20'' in May 2014.〔〔〔 A sister ship will follow within a year. The two new vessels will replace the ''Challenger'' and the ''Liberty'', commissioned in 1987.〔 The earlier vessels had a troubled maintenance record.〔 She will be one of the most powerful fireboats in the world. ''Fireboat 20'' will be propelled by a pair of Voith-Schneider propellers, an advanced propulsion system that bears some resemblance to helicopter propulsion, and enable instantaneous changes in the propeller thrust.〔 She will be 108 feet long, with a maximum speed of 13 knots. Her ten water cannon can pump 41,000 gallons per minute, more than four times as much as her predecessors. She will be able to throw her water up to in the air, and up to away. The two vessels were designed by Robert Allan Limited, a firm known for designing many widely admired tugboats, fireboats and support vessels.〔 In addition to firefighting duties ''Fireboat 20'' and her sister have air-tight crew compartments and a decontamination chamber, so they are equipped to respond to the releases of hazardous material, in particular they can respond to radiological, poison gas, or germ warfare attacks.〔 The vessels pumps can de-water flooded structures. The vessels are highly automated, and require only a crew of four. But they can transport 12 additional individuals. Part of the cabin can serve as an emergency infirmary, so carrying emergency medical technicians can make sense, or additional firefighters, or hazmat technicians. The pair of vessels was budgeted at $51 million.〔 ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fireboat 20」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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