Virginia Department's Fire/Rescue Boat Sinks for Second Time
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JESSICA MARCY
The Roanoke Times

A fire-and-rescue boat that sank seven years ago has done it again.

Firefighters found the 30-foot Munson boat underwater at Smith Mountain
Lake late Wednesday night.

The boat is one of seven owned by Smith Mountain Lake Marine Fire/Rescue
and carries the same items that a fire truck would. It is used to fight
house, dock and boat fires on the lake.

"We don't really know what happened yet," said Jack Gautier, chief of
the squad.

A crane began pulling the boat out of the water about 1 p.m. Thursday.
Gautier hopes that an investigation into the cause will be finished in a
few days.

After being purchased in 1999, the boat sank on Jan. 14, 2000, Gautier
said. The cause was a bow thruster malfunction that let water into the boat.

Gautier estimates the damage this time to be at least $200,000, and he
said a new boat would cost about $350,000.

"We're all volunteers, so we're going to need money to get this thing up
and running again," Gautier said.




-snicker-