A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipment. Older designs derived from tugboats and modern fireboats more closely resembling seafaring ships can both be found in service today. Some departments would give their multi-purpose craft the title of "fireboat" also.
Edward M. Cotter is a fireboat in use by the Buffalo Fire Department at Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally named William S. Grattan, it was built in 1900 by the Crescent Shipyard of Elizabeth Port, New Jersey. Due to age, it was rebuilt in 1953 and renamed Firefighter upon its return to service. The following year it was renamed Edward M. Cotter. its namesake, Edward Cotter, was a Buffalo firefighter and leader of the local firefighters union who had recently died.
CCGS Sora was a 12.5m Small Multi Task Utility Craft that has seen service with the Canadian Coast Guard and Toronto Fire Services. It was deployed for medium range task and perform under moderate to high speed in moderate weather conditions and in sheltered waters in station mode. In 2005, it was transferred to Toronto and used as part of the Fire Services fleet. It was finally retired in 2015.
William Lyon Mackenzie, is a fireboat operated by Toronto Fire Services (TFS) which provides marine fire fighting and icebreaking capabilities within the Toronto Harbour. Built by Russel Brothers in 1964, it is named after William Lyon Mackenzie, the first mayor of Toronto. In 2004 the fireboat was refurbished and it is expected to be in service until 2037.
John D. McKean is a fireboat that served the New York City Fire Department as Marine Company 1. She is named after John D. Mckean, who died in a 1953 steam explosion while trying to save a predecessor fireboat, the George B. McClellan.
The John H. Glenn Jr. is a fireboat stationed on the Potomac and Anacostia rivers in Washington, D.C. Her bow was reinforced in 1984, allowing her to also serve as an icebreaker during the winter.
As an important port city, Chicago has operated dedicated fireboats since 1877.
The Victor L. Schlaeger was a fireboat operated by the Chicago Fire Department from 1949 to 2010. While the city of Chicago had once operated nine powered fireboats, in the early 20th century, towards the end of her working life the Schlaeger was Chicago's sole large fireboat. She was supplemented by smaller, faster, but less capable boats. In 1986 she was retired from active to standby status, at a considerable savings in personnel, as she had been staffed 24 hours per day by a crew of eight.
The Curtis Randolph is a fireboat operated by the Detroit Fire Department. The 74.58-foot (22.73 m) vessel was launched in 1979, and is named after a young firefighter who died in the line of duty in 1977. Mayor Coleman A. Young commissioned the vessel.
Fireboats in San Diego have been operated on San Diego Bay by the city of San Diego, California since the early 20th century, as well as by the Port of San Diego since its creation as a quasi-governmental agency serving the entire Bay in 1962.
The Abram S. Hewitt was a coal-powered fireboat operated by the Fire Department of New York City from 1903 to 1958. She was the department's last coal-powered vessel and had a pumping capacity of 7,000 gallons per minute.
The Deanna Jo is a small fireboat operated by the Alameda Fire Department. The city was able to acquire the vessel with the help of matching grants from the United States Department of Homeland Security, which required the city to only pay one quarter of the vessels capital cost. The Department has been providing Port Security grants since 2002, to provide vessels that, in addition to fighting fires, and rescuing boaters and swimmers, are equipped to counter biological and chemical weapons.
William M. Feehan is a fireboat built for and operated by the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). Her namesake, William M. Feehan, was the oldest and most senior FDNY firefighter to perish in the line of duty on September 11, 2001. Her nameplate is carved from a steel plate salvaged from the collapse of the World Trade Center. The vessel's $4.7 million cost was largely covered by a FEMA Port Security Grant Program.
During the early 20th century, large and powerful fireboats were operated in Duluth, Minnesota. In 1920 both the Duluth, Mesaba & Northern Railway Company and the Duluth & Iron Range Railway Company operated fireboats in Duluth, the William A. McGonacle and the Halle.
The Kevin C. Kane was formerly an FDNY fireboat and is currently being refitted as a long-haul tugboat. She was built by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding in Somerset, Massachusetts, and delivered on December 8, 1992. She participated in two high-profile events: responding to al Qaeda's attack on the World Trade Center, on September 11, 2001; and the rescue of passengers from US Airways Flight 1549, the airliner that landed on the Hudson River in January 2009. She was auctioned off after she incurred damage during Hurricane Sandy. The vessel was named after a firefighter who lost his life in the line of duty.
The James J. Versluis is a tugboat operated by the Chicago Water Department. She is 90 feet (27 m) long, and built in 1957.
Protector is a "Firestorm 30" fireboat in Victoria, British Columbia, purchased in 2007.
Eugene Blackmon Jr. was a Chicago firefighter and scuba diver, who died in the course of duty, on May 19, 1998. On July 31, 2017, the Chicago Fire Department named a new fireboat the Eugene Blackmon, in his honor.
Newport, Rhode Island acquired a new fireboat, named William H. Connerton, Jr. on April 23, 2018. Approximately seventy-five percent of the vessel's cost was covered by a FEMA Port Security Grant. $887,642.00 was paid for by FEMA, $267,500 was paid by the Newport Fire Department, but $200,000 of that was donated by Peter Kiernan III a local philanthropist.
As a major port, there is a long history of fireboats in Singapore.
