Fire-class fireboat

The Royal Canadian Navy operates two Fire-class fireboats/Yard tractor tugs. The two vessels are the CFAV Firebrand (YTR 562) and the CFAV Firebird (YTR 561).

Firebird is based at CFB Halifax, and Firebrand at CFB Esquimalt. According to the Canadian American Strategic Review the class was designed by naval architects Robert Allan Limited, and were built at Vancouver Shipyards in North Vancouver in 1978, and later acquired by the Canadian Forces.

On December 4, 2012 the Department of National Defence published an enquiry for Canadian shipbuilders interested in building replacements for the Glen class tugs¸ and fire class fireboats. A single class would replace both the tugs and the fireboats, and would be operated by civilian crews. The replacement vessels would have water cannons that could be controlled remotely, by a single individual. The replacement vessels would have bollard pull of 40 tons -- almost six times as much as the 7.5 tons the fire class vessels are capable of.