Rotork actuators enhance water flow for New York City fireboats

Summary

March 20, 2020 - The fireboats used by the Marine Division of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) use Rotork’s IQ range of part-turn intelligent electric actuators to keep the city safe.

The IQ part-turn actuators provided are used on two fireboats, ‘Firefighter 2’ and ‘Firefighter 343’. The actuators have the important duty of controlling the flow of water to the fire nozzles on deck, meaning that they are vital in the event of an emergency.

New York City is one of the busiest ports in the world and has 560 miles of waterfront. The FDNY has long employed the use of fireboats in order to combat fire-related incidents both on land and on the water. These 2 ships are the largest ones in their fleet.

Water is extracted from the river upon which the fireboats operate and the actuators then control the flow from the river to the fire nozzle. This ensures that the fireboats have access to an endless supply of water in the event of an emergency. It is critical that the flow of water to the fire nozzles is maintained at all times. Additionally, the fire nozzles are sometimes used to spray water at festival displays such as Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and Fleet Week.

The IQ actuators were installed as a retrofit, after the existing electric actuators installed previously failed due to water ingress. The Rotork actuators, with water ingress protection, are double sealed to IP66/68 (20 m for 10 days).

The IQT actuators are capable of up to 1,200 starts per hour, making them suitable for a fire-fighting application where duty cycles can be very demanding in emergencies.