Good Question: Where’s the new fire rescue boat?

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC)— Here’s a Good Question– about a local fire department.

We were asked about a fireboat for the Rochester Fire Department, it stems from an announcement back in 2019.

The custom-built rescue catamaran– billed as the first of its kind for the great lakes– comes from a California group called Moose Boat. The boat for Rochester will be used for water rescues, and to help fight fires along the Lake Ontario shoreline.

The boat should already be here, but it isn’t.

A viewer named Robert sent News10NBC’s Brennan Somers an email about it: "Where is the fireboat that is paid for? It should have been delivered in spring 2020."

He’s right, the original delivery date was 2020, so Somers reached out to RFD to see what’s going on. Firefighters told Somers that due to COVID, and building delays, the finished product got push back to the end of last year. Then– winter hit, with limited options for storing the boat at this point, they asked the company to hold off on delivery until March or April.

They say the schedule is still on track for a spring delivery.

The fire rescue boat costs nearly $1 million, Rochester got a state grant to cover that. When it arrives, the boat will be stationed along the Genesee River in Charlotte.

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Watch previous Good Question segments here. If you have a question you’d like answered, email GoodQuestion@whec.com.