"You'll hear it before you see it," said platoon chief Mark Jones on Wednesday afternoon as the only fire rescue air boat in Waterloo region made its appearance on the west side of Puslinch Lake.
The thundering buzz from the engine's fan echoed across the lake as the boat came into view from the peninsula beyond the McClintocks' dock, skimming across the lillypad lined surface of the outer banks and shallows.
The Cambridge Fire Department has been on the lake all week, training 40 firefighters as primary operators on the new equipment that will be kept at Station 5 for deployment across the city and region if needed.
Cambridge fire has a mutual service agreement with Puslinch Township for use on the lake when needed for any type of rescue, all year long.
"We need to make sure we are able to operate it in the worst conditions," Jones said.
The new boat features a raised cab, an open-air hull with room for up to four, and a flat bottom that can skim over ice at the same speed as water, improving response times. Jones said the new open-air design is less prone to wind shear and provides better visuals during search and rescue operations.
The $215,000 Husky replaces a 1996 Husky airboat that had reached the end of its life when its hull was breached.
Next week, firefighters will join Waterloo Regional Police Service on the Grand for training around river rescues and searches.
