Brewer, Bangor invest in new emergency hovercraft tool
Friday, May 05, 2006

BREWER - The sister cities of Bangor and Brewer have a brand new tool - a fire-red hovercraft that should help emergency crews from each community pluck people out of dangerous, water-related situations.

"This will run over roads, ice and a clam flat that you'd sink to your knees in," Brewer fire Chief Rick Bronson said Thursday. "It hovers [up to] 2 feet above the ground."

The Hoverguard 1000, a 19-foot-3-inch hovercraft, paid for with Homeland Security grant funds, will be shared between Bangor and Brewer and could be used in other local communities, if needed.

The craft arrived on April 26 in Brewer, where it will have a permanent home in a heated shelter along the Penobscot River. It required lettering and a radio installed before it was unveiled, Bronson said.

"It says Bangor-Brewer Fire Rescue on one side and Brewer-Bangor [Fire Rescue] on the other side," he said. "The Bangor city seal is on one side and the Brewer city seal is on the other."

The backside of the vessel is lettered with the name "Bon Ton IV" to honor the former ferries that once connected the sister cities, Bronson said.

The Maine Emergency Management Agency was unwilling to give funds individually to Bangor and Brewer, but willingly awarded the two $59,000 for the hovercraft, with the understanding the craft is used regionally.

"The local tax dollar match [was] zero," Bronson said.

The hovercraft is a good emergency tool to have on hand for rescues on the Penobscot River and Kenduskeag Stream, along with other waterways in the area, Bronson said.

Both cities are sharing maintenance and training costs. "Bangor & Brewer Fire Departments" lettering identifies the new, jointly owned craft.

The bright red hovercraft has white racing stripes and two huge, 4-foot fans on the back to propel it forward.

Two officers, one from Bangor and one from Brewer, have been trained on the vehicle and will spend the next few months training others. In Bangor, 16 people will be trained by Capt. Anthony Riitano, and in Brewer, 15 to 20 will be trained by Capt. Brent Melvin.

Driving the hovercraft is unlike any other type of vehicle, Riitano said Thursday.

"It's different than a car and it is different than a boat because you're riding a cushion of air," the Bangor firefighter said. "There is no keel on it. There are no brakes and no reverse - that's why you have to anticipate your maneuvers."

Part of the difficulty with the craft is, "you have to triangulate three things" in order to drive, Bronson said. On the river, for example, drivers must compensate for wind, water currents and the forward motion created by the fans.

For initial training, Brewer is planning "to go to a puddle somewhere," in order to remove water currents from the training scenario, Bronson said. After crews have a good handle on how the equipment operates, they will head to the Penobscot River for more practice, the Brewer chief said.

The hovercraft was shipped to Bangor on Thursday so crews from that department could start familiarizing themselves with the equipment. Bangor firefighters will get lessons on operating the craft within the next couple of weeks, Riitano said.

"Most likely, [we'll] do it on the river" because that's where it primarily will be used, he said. "I'm sure we'll bump into a few things" while training, he said.

The hovercraft requires a driver and two crewmembers to operate. Only drivers are required to have the hands-on operating training, but all firefighters from both Bangor and Brewer will need to be familiar with the new tool in case they are called upon to be a crewmember, Riitano said.

A copyright article from the Bangor Daily News, Saturday, May 6, 2005.