Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews and the Port Authority of NSW have fought a fire on board a barge, that’s threatened an historic ferry, at Berrys Bay on Sydney’s lower north shore.
FRNSW received a large number of Triple-Zero (000) calls about the blaze from the public, just after 7.15 last night.
Boat-mounted water jets
The crew of the Port Authority vessel, ‘The Girawaa,’ was first on scene and used water jets
Twenty-four firefighters from Lane Cove, Crows Nest, Neutral Bay, Mosman, The Rocks and the City of Sydney responded to the scene off Larkin Street at Waverton and discovered the barge well alight.
The crew of the Port Authority vessel, ‘The Girawaa,’ was first on scene and used boat-mounted water jets, called ‘monitors,’ to battle the flames from the water.
New multipurpose fire-fighting vessel
The Girawaa is Port Authority’s new multipurpose fire-fighting vessel, capable of spraying water up to 90 meters and pumping 16,000 liters of sea water per minute-equivalent to the capacity of four large fire engines. The fire was extinguished in a two-hour operation, with booms put in place as a precaution to contain any hazardous material run-off.
Whilst the barge sank, fire crews were able to stop flames spreading to the historic ferry, ‘SS South Steyne,’ berthed nearby. The site was handed over to NSW Police last night for further investigation.
