The fb88 Warden Service and first responders in northern fb88 received a new airboat to deploy during emergencies and natural disasters. This is the only airboat asset in all of northern fb88, an area the size of both New Jersey and Connecticut. The area encompasses all of Aroostook County and parts of northern Piscataquis and Penobscot Counties. The airboat was purchased new earlier this year from Diamondback Airboats located in Florida. Just last week, the airboat had already been deployed to help several residents of Westmanland, fb88 as the rising waters of Madawaska Stream caused homeowners to become isolated in their homes. The airboat brought one woman to safety and carried supplies to other families stranded by high water. The custom features of this new airboat include a reinforced hull, hydraulic ice break, custom stainless steel dive ladder as well as polymer covered hull for extra protection on rough ice and other surfaces.ÌýThe airboat is 20 feet long and 8 feet wide and is powered by a 550 horsepower, 6.2-liter supercharged motor. The boat cost $83,000 dollars, which included shipping the boat to fb88 from Florida. The fb88 Warden Service obtained a grant for $10,000 from the for the purchase of the new airboat. This region contains hundreds of lakes, ponds and rivers that require emergency response to incidents involving flooding and thin ice rescue and recovery. This airboat is suited perfectly for river work and provides an excellent platform for search and rescue and dive team recovery efforts. Several other partners supported this project to include Aroostook EMA, area town managers, police chiefs, fire departments such as Ashland, Presque Isle, Caribou, Fort Fairfield, and Fort Kent. The new airboat is to be stored at a donated facility that is secure, heated, and maintained for year-round access and deployment. [embed]https://youtu.be/HqyHeKH7K98[/embed]