HK's famous fireboat

I never really thought how ship fires were put out until today's tour of the Alexander Grantham in Quarry Bay. This fireboat was commissioned back in 1953 and was the primary responder to sea accidents in Victoria Harbour until it was decommissioned in 2002.  Today a number of different fireboats are operated by Hong Kong's Fire Services Department to respond to fires accidents in Hong Kong's water and shorelines.

My first time on board a fireboat--The Alexander Grantham (Photo: CathC)

I had fun wandering around the ship seeing what it was like to work and live on board. The crew slept in the lower deck on bunk beds while the upper deck contained the mess, office, galley, and an room for casualities. It is impressive to see the water canons up close. Looking at the gallery images, they seem to be able to spray water at distance that's least twice the length of the ship! There were about 8 canons on the deck and another one at top.

Water canons for fire fighting (Photo: CathC)

Check out how steep the staircase is to go down to the crew's cabin (Photo: CathC)

A view of the water canon from the upper deck (Photo: CathC)

Even thought today was a bit humid it was still a breezy sunny day to be outside. Not surprisingly we saw a bunch of sail boats and cruise boats were out in the waters. I think I've found a new favourite spot to relax on the weekends. It's a quite surrounding and it's a lot closer to to head to Tamar Park out in Central. The only thing missing is a nice cafe by the waterfront here!

A view of the old Kei Tak Airport (Photo: CathC)