The Stafford County Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of new vehicles for the county's fire and rescue department.

The county will purchase is first fireboat which will be used to assist emergency services that are operating in or near water. According to documents provided by the county, the boat will be a Metal Shark 32 Defiant series boat which is commonly used with law enforcement and rescue departments.

The boat will be operated by career fire personnel, have a length of 32 feet and will be outfitted with a Mercury Verado 350 HP Twin Outboard engine capable of traveling within the range of 40 to 45 knots. That speed would be equivalent to going 46 to 51 miles per hour on land.

Funding in the amount of $591,000 will be used from the Fiscal Year 2021 Capital Improvement Plan to purchase the boat. Multiple volunteer fire stations in the county including Brooke, Falmouth, and Widewater, and White Oak volunteer fire departments also operate boats.

The county has also relied on fire boats from neighboring Prince William and Fairfax counties, and Charles County, Md. when boaters on the Aquia Creek or Potomac River issue a distress call. 

The county will also purchase a medical van which will be used to help with preventative care and provide health education for the community.

The vehicle itself will be a Ford Transit 350 2021 model which will be outfitted for the rescue department, the van will be provided by the Delaware-based Bayshore Ford Truck Sales Inc.

The county will use $200,000 from the balance of the previous year's budget to fund the purchase.