Duwamish was one of the most powerful fireboats in the United States several times over her 75-year working life. She is the second oldest vessel designed to fight fires in the US, after Edward M. Cotter, in Buffalo, New York.
A fireboat 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.
William Michael Feehan was a member of the Fire Department of New York who died during the collapse of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks.
The Detroit Fire Department (DFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan.
CFAV Firebrand is a Fire-class fireboat in the Royal Canadian Navy designed by Robert Allan Ltd.. Firebrand is based in CFB Esquimalt, on Vancouver Island. Her sister ship CFAV Firebird was based in CFB Halifax and decommissioned in 2014.
The Alki is a fireboat noted for its long service in Seattle, Washington. The boat was built in 1927 and is 123 feet (37 m) long. She was Seattle's third fireboat. She was built with gasoline engines, which were replaced with diesels in 1947. The new engine retrofit allowed the Alki to increase its pumping capacity from 12,000 gallons per minute to 16,200 gallons per minute. She replaced the Snoqualmie, Seattle's first fireboat.
Hike Metal Products is a Wheatley, Ontario-based manufacturer of small to mid-sized boats used for firefighting, lifeboats, research vessels, law enforcement and other rescue and patrol operations. The company also performs ship refitting and metal fabricating.
The Christopher Wheatley is a fireboat delivered to the Chicago Fire Department in 2011. When she was delivered in April 2011, she was the first new fireboat to serve the city in sixty years. She replaced the Victor L. Schlaeger.
As a major port a number of fireboats of San Francisco have been operated by the city of San Francisco since 1878.
Because water transport is an important industry on the rivers of the Mississippi River system, there are a number of fireboats on the Mississippi River system.
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.
The John Kendall was a steam-powered fireboat launched in 1929 by the Toledo Shipbuilding Company and operated by the Detroit Fire Department from 1930 to 1976. During her service as a fireboat she continued to be propelled by steam engines, requiring a crew of ten, five of whom were required to stoke her boiler. She was converted to a tugboat, and her steam engines were finally replaced by diesel engines. She served an additional 20 years as a tug, out of Alpena, Michigan. She was scrapped in 1994.
The Fireboat Tiburon is a modern 35 feet (11 m) fireboat acquired by Tiburon, California's fire department in 2006. Two thirds of the vessel's cost was paid through a Port security grant from FEMA, a sub-agency of the Department of Homeland Security. She replaced a used vessel acquired from the Los Angeles Fire Department in 2003.
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 Sophie Masloff is a fireboat in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In December 16, 2016, Pittsburgh officials announced that half a million dollars had been budgeted to a acquire a fireboat that was eventually named in honor of Pittsburgh's first female mayor. The new vessel, the city's first fireboat since 1973, was built by Lake Assault Boats, a Wisconsin firm for $542,750.
The James J. Versluis is a tugboat operated by the Chicago Water Department. She is 90 feet (27 m) long, and built in 1957.
The Philadelphia Fire Department started operating the fireboat Independence in 2007. The vessel cost $5 million, $4.5 million of which came from a FEMA Port Security Grant.
Although it is a busy port, there is sparse record of fireboats in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Sivad Heshimu Johnson was a 26 year veteran of the Detroit Fire Department when he perished while trying to save three children from drowning, on August 21, 2020.
