Lake Assault Boats has delivered a fire and rescue craft to Sherrills Ford-Terrell Fire & Rescue Department in North Carolina. The 28-foot long vessel is serving on Lake Norman, the largest and longest lake in the Carolinas.

Lake Norman is an extremely popular resource that features 520 miles of shoreline surrounded by lake homes, summer cabins, numerous marinas, and several parks. “Our department is responsible for covering a large percentage of the lake’s shoreline, and this new craft has the power and versatility to take our response capabilities to a whole new level,” explained Deputy Chief Justin Butler of Sherrills Ford-Terrell Fire & Rescue Department. “For example, we support land based apparatus, conduct rescue and recovery operations, and protect the marinas and the more than 30,000 boats registered on the lake.”

The craft is outfitted with twin 350 hp Mercury Verado outboard engines controlled through the innovative one-touch Skyhook Digital Anchor and Joystick Piloting system. The firefighting equipment includes a 1500 gpm Darley fire pump (powered by a dedicated V-8 engine), an Elkhart monitor, twin 4-inch discharges, and a foam system.

The 9-foot long pilothouse provides protection from the elements and is equipped with a forward leaning windshield, safety glass all around, sliding windows, lockable storage, a fold-down workstation, and an automatic fire suppression system below deck. The onboard electronics include dual 12-inch touchscreens mounted on the dash, Garmin radar and sonar with SideVu and DownVu, chart plotting, and a forward looking infrared (FLIR) system.

“We visited the factory for a ‘pre-paint’ inspection; this was very beneficial as we were able to tweak a few things with help from their team,” said Butler.