Cranston Assistant Fire Chief Bill McKenna checks out the city’s new fire boat at the Port of Providence yesterday.

The Providence Journal / Bill Murphy

PROVIDENCE –– When a fireball exploded over the Motiva Enterprises marine terminal during a severe thunderstorm two years ago, small fire boats from Cranston, East Providence, and Providence chugged over to try to fight the fire from the Providence River.

The little boats had portable water pumps and weren’t especially seaworthy in the storm-churned water. The pumps conked out on two of the boats. The fire was eventually extinguished by 170 firefighters from around the region and the crew on the tanker, but the incident reinforced for the fire chiefs that they needed to do something to protect their communities on the waterfront.

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon, when three identical 34-foot watercraft hit their throttles outside the Port of Providence and blasted sprays of the Providence River into the air.

Each fire department has its own boat, which it will staff with firefighters already on duty. The boats are intended for a regional response to an emergency.

While East Providence purchased its boat using a federal port-security grant and matching funds ($135,000 from the city, plus $26,000 from the Capital Terminal fuel wholesaler), Cranston, Warwick, and Providence used a federal grant meant for urban areas deemed to be at risk for a terrorist attack or disaster.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated the Greater Providence area as one of several dozen metropolitan areas that could receive special federal homeland security money, known as the Urban Area Security Initiative grant program, to prepare for a regional response to a major disaster. Along with Providence, the region includes East Providence, Cranston, Warwick, Pawtucket, Central Falls, West Warwick, North Providence, and Johnston –– containing more than half of Rhode Island’s population.

Homeland security officials saw factors in the region that pointed to risks. There’s the Port of Providence, which provides all the heating oil for Southeastern Massachusetts and hosts a liquefied natural gas facility. Nearby is Rhode Island Hospital’s level-one trauma unit, the only one in Rhode Island. The cities of Providence, Cranston, and Warwick are along the transportation corridor, all with major businesses and chemical industries.

Rhode Island received $5.17 million from the UASI grant in fiscal year 2007, and $5.015 million this fiscal year. The UASI money is also being used to extend the statewide interoperable radio communications system and install reverse-911 technology for all nine communities, said Amy Grzybowski, the homeland security grant manager at the state Emergency Management Agency.The boats, built by Metalcraft Marine, in Canada, can shoot 2,600 gallons of seawater a minute up to 250 feet away, said East Providence Fire Chief Joseph J. Klucznik. The boats can be hooked up to supply fire trucks on land, a boon along the Port where the hydrant mains come to a dead end, Dillon said. Cameras and sonar, including an infrared camera, can be used for search-and-rescue operations, said Warwick Fire Chief Kevin Sullivan. The boats have hazardous-materials equipment, and their wheelhouses can be sealed off to protect firefighters as they use remote controls to operate the three monitors spraying water, said Cranston Fire Chief James Gumbley.

While the Motiva fire was a nail-biter –– occurring less than 1,000 feet from the liquefied natural gas tank –– the fire chiefs say there aren’t a lot of fires along the water. That’s why they wanted, and Homeland Security approved, boats with other capabilities. “Any assets we acquire have to be multi-functional,” Dillon said.

amilkovi@projo.com