Matthew Nicholson Assistant Fire Chief of the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Fire Department explains the features of the new fireboat at Trojan Landing Marina on Thursday, July 9, 2026.
ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä's Fire Department added a new fireboat to its roster of firefighting equipment in June, and it's decked out with new technology to make water rescues faster and easier. Unlike the older vessel, it uses advanced maneuverability and cameras and can move sideways.Â
The aluminum boat has the emergency call sign Marine 40 and is named J.W. Cabell, honoring the CFD's first firefighter who was killed in the line of duty. The craft went into service during the annual ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Sternwheel Regatta over the July Fourth holiday weekend.
Matthew Nicholson Assistant Fire Chief of the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Fire Department explains the features of the new fireboat at Trojan Landing Marina on Thursday, July 9, 2026.
The J.W. Cabell measures 36 feet long and 11 feet wide. The previous boat was 25 feet long and 8 feet wide. According to Matt Nicholson, assistant fire chief of the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Fire Department, only one person can operate the boat at a time, however there are usually three firefighters onboard when it's underway.
This new vessel can hold 200 gallons of fuel, and its twin outboard motors produce 700 horsepower.
The ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Fire Department consists of 160 people, so a larger boat was something they plan to take advantage of.Â
"We tried to train everybody on the boat, but out of 160 people, we can only rotate so many people in so much to get so much hands-on time. So, we train everybody the best they can to try to keep them up," he said.
According to Nicholson, the J.W. Cabell project has been five years in the making. The funding for the boat came — in part — through a Port Security Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with the city paying a 25% match. The total cost of the boat was $587,000. The city's share, $146,750, came from the city's general budget.
The City of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Fire Department commissioned a new fire boat, J.W. Cabell, with a call sign "Marine 40." We rode along with Assistant Fire Chief Matt Nicholson to see how it works.
The J.W. Cabell — in comparison to the previous boat — operates with digital instrumentation and is equipped with technology to make rescues and recoveries easier, as well as responding to boat fires easier. The boat has two water cannons, capable of projecting 3,000 gallons of river water per minute.
"We've greatly enhanced our search-and-rescue capabilities, our low visibility navigation abilities, the maneuverability of the boat, the speed of the boat, our firefighting capabilities," Nicholson said.Â
The boat's advanced sonar system is able to cover multiple viewpoints, which makes locating targets easier.Â
Nicholson said one of the most convenient new features was the boat's climate-control system. This makes it easier for firefighters to work in extreme weather conditions.
"We've got climate control now, which enables us to be able to operate in extreme heat and cold," he said.
According to CFD Capt. David Hodges, the older boat was in service for more than 20 years and will be sold.
ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Firefighter John William Cabell died from injuries he sustained when a chemical firefighting engine he was riding on collided with a streetcar while responding to a fire in March 1906.
Cabell was the second professional firefighter in West Virginia to be killed in the line of duty, the first being John Wright of the Huntington Fire Department in 1901.
In total, the CFD has had 16 deaths in the line of duty throughout its history, according to its website.
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