POULSBO — The Poulsbo Fire Department christened its new fire boat Viking Shields — call sign Marine 74 — on Jan. 27 before an audience of family and friends.

The boat is named in honor of former Poulsbo Fire Chief Jim Shields’ family, which operated the Pacific Coast Codfish Co. in Poulsbo during the first half of the 20th century.

With a $363,899 price tag, the 29-foot vessel manufactured by North River, comes with a number of bells and whistles — both literally and figuratively — which will be a boon for the local lifesavers. In addition to new accoutrements, like a pressurized cabin protecting against exposure to possible chemical and biological agents, and a FLIR (forward-looking infrared) camera, the vessel is also 10 feet longer than the department’s previous rescue boat.

In fact, the new boat might even be a bit too big.

An early measurement of the boathouse at the Port of Poulsbo, where the Viking Shields will reside, revealed that the boat was just a smidge too big to fit. It was only a minor hiccup, Poulsbo Fire Chief Jeff Griffin said.

“We can still utilize the boathouse, even if the back end of the boat sticks out,” Griffin said. “We’ve confirmed with the director of the port, Brad [Miller], that that’s not a problem in the short term while we solve the situation. The solutions may be very simple when we get down to it.We just need to put it in the water.”

Having a roof over the boat, Griffin said, was about more than just keeping seagulls from making their mark on the vessel.

“Having a boat under cover reduces the maintenance expenses by about 40 percent. It’s very significant, the UV damage on boats and the exposure to weather keep them from holding up anywhere near as long. This is going to be a fire apparatus that is going to operate in this community for many, many years. Several generations, if we do it right.”

At Viking Shields’ christening, Jim Shields was on hand to deliver a speech, channelling his inner Viking while wearing a customized firefighter’s helmet adorned with horns — his retirement gift from the department.

In his speech, Shields explained that his family name carries with it more than a century of experience with the fire department.

“That’s quite a history and I’m so pleased that we’re celebrating it here today,” he said. “This is just a fantastic piece of apparatus, yeah, let’s bust it,” he said, taking the bottle of champagne in hand.

“I christen this ship, Viking Shields. May God bless her and all who sail in her and all they protect,” Shields said before swinging the bottle against the reinforced “push knee” fender on the bow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HD5z2LWowE

With the boat christened, the audience cheered and then laughed as Shields feigned an attempt at drinking some of the Champagne from the broken bottle.

“It’s very special, indeed,” Shields said of the event. “I’m very honored. The whole family is.”

“There’s so much water around here that the fire department serves, it just only makes sense. Of course they should have a boat and all the technology that goes with it now.”

When asked if he wished he could’ve had a boat like Viking Shields at his disposal when he was the fire chief, Shields said, “I wish I had a boat like that right now!”

“It’s incredible, it’s state of the art. It’s mind-boggling the technology involved in it, it’s going to serve them well for a lot of years.”

— Nick Twietmeyer is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. Contact him at ntwietmeyer@soundpublishing.com