FDNY Opens New Quarters for Marine 9; 2 Members Promoted

The new quarters of Marine 9 on Staten Island

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With the Manhattan skyline in the background, the FDNY celebrated the opening of the new, state-of-the-art firehouse for Marine 9 on Staten Island.

Also part of the celebrations was a small promotions ceremony for Provisional Pilot Scott Forget and Provisional Marine Engineer James Hohorst, both of Marine 9.

This is the latest step in a modernization of the Marine Unit, Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said during the ceremony on May 10. Its a proud day for the members of Marine 9, Marine Operations and the entire Department.

FDNY worked closely with the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the State Department of Environmental Conservation to secure land to construct the new $24 million, two-story, 10,500-square-foot facility to house the modern fireboat, the Fire Fighter II.

This couldnt be a prouder moment for the FDNY, Chief of Department Edward Kilduff said. People in this administration including planning, grants and building design put together a unified vision. It was a process that was rewarding for everyone involved.

Chief of Marine Operations James Dalton added, This is the fruit of everyones hard labor … We got a lot of support to get here today.

This new firehouse has several green initiatives, making it one of the Departments most energy efficient buildings. Sustainable elements include a planted green roof, which provides for storm water retention and filtering, as well providing additional insulation; solar thermal collectors used to heat water in the firehouse and provide supplemental heat for the building; and automatic lighting controls used to minimize energy consumption.

Fire Fighter II was commissioned and assigned to Marine 9 on Dec. 7, 2010, and replaced the former 72-year-old ship, the Fire Fighter. One of the two most advanced fireboats in the world - the other being Three Forty Three assigned to FDNY Marine 1 in Manhattan Fire Fighter II has the capability of pumping 50,000 gallons of water per minute and the ability to detect and protect firefighters from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear agents.

I cant say enough about how hard everyone worked to make this a reality, said Marine 9 Captain John Stark. Today were opening on of the finest firehouses in all of New York.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/events/2012/051012a.shtml