Since being pressed into service at the end of June, the Susquehanna Hose Company's new rescue boat has already had plenty of action.
The Havre de Grace fire company has reported a number of calls that required the 35-foot-length Munson High Speed Landing Craft since the specially-retrofitted boat began being used June 26, according to the Hose Company's reports on social media.
The boat helped crews search for a missing woman in the Sassafras River, near the Chesapeake Bay, just two hours after it first went into service in June, the Hose Company reported.
The rescue boat, known as Marine Unit 552, was officially dedicated Saturday afternoon. As if to further make the point about its need, the boat left on a swift-water rescue call by Sand Island, at the Chesapeake Bay, just as the ceremony was ending, Havre de Grace Mayor Bill Martin said.
"I have always been a major proponent of the idea of a rescue boat on the water, ready to go," Martin said Sunday.
A year ago, Martin accompanied Susquehanna Hose leaders Charlie Jones and Charlie Packard to testify at appropriations committees in the state's General Assembly to support the boat, he said.
"Most said, 'Well, isn't there a [Department of Natural Resources] boat or police boat in the area?'" Martin said.
He explained those boats are mostly used for enforcement of issues like drinking and boating, while the new boat would be used more specifically for rescues.
The boat replaced a 22-foot boat and is one of the only rescue boats in the state to feature side-scanning sonar that helps locate bodies in the water, a system that cost more than $60,000, Susquehanna Chief Scott Hurst said earlier. Hurst, as well as Susquehanna Hose's Charlie Packard, could not be reached for comment by Sunday.
The boat has a 30-year life span, an enclosed cabin with heating and air-conditioning and two pieces of scuba equipment. It is docked at the Yacht Basin near the Promenade Grille.
Martin pointed out that the City of Havre de Grace paid the majority of the $500,000 cost for the vessel. The state also contributed $100,000.
"I am grateful the state helped us out and I am glad the county helped us out," he said.
Gov. Larry Hogan saw the boat during a visit to Havre de Grace earlier this week, Martin said, and "he was very impressed."
State and local officials joined the Susquehanna Hose Company for the dedication Saturday, according to a post on social media.
The company thanked elected officials and the Marine 552 committee for designing "a spectacular piece of apparatus that will serve Havre de Grace [and] the surrounding area for many years to come," according to the post.
"It's a good thing to have," Martin said Sunday.