Fireboats of New York City

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For much of the late 19th and early 20th century, New York City maintained a fleet of ten fireboats. In recent decades technology has improved to where smaller boats can provide the pumping capacity that required a large boat in the past. [1] These smaller boats require smaller crews, and the crews themselves require less training. Like many other cities the FDNY operates a fleet with a smaller number of large fireboats, supplemented by a number of unnamed boats in the 10 meter range. [2]

some fireboats of the FDNY [3] [1]
imagenamecommissionedretireddimensionspumping
capacity
notes
William F. Havemeyer in 1887 (cropped).jpg William F. Havemeyer 18751901106'x22'x10'6000 gpm
FDNY fireboat Zophar Mills in 1882.jpg Zophar Mills 18821934120'x25'x12'6000 gpm
Brooklyn fireboat Seth Low.jpg Seth Low 1885191799'x24'x9'3500 gpmBrooklyn FD
(King1893NYC) pg545 FIRE-BOAT 'NEW-YORKER' AT CASTLE-GARDEN BULKHEAD.jpg The New Yorker 18901931125'x26'x12'13,000 gpm
Fireboat David A. Boody.jpg David A. Boody 18921914105'x23'x7'6500 gpm
Fireboat William L. Strong in 1917.jpg William L. Strong 18981948100'x24'x12.6'6500 gpm
FDNY fireboat Robert A. van Wyck.png Robert A. van Wyck 1898
Fire Boat, 'Abram S. Hewitt', during the 1905 Terminal Fire, Hoboken, N.J. Postmarked May 9, 1908.jpg Abram S. Hewitt 19031958117'x25'x10'6"7000 gpm
Profile of the FDNY George B. McClellan.png George B. McClellan 19041954117'x24'x9'6"7000 gpm
The FDNY James Duane -a.jpg James Duane 19081959132'x28'x10'9000 gpm
FDNY fireboat Thomas Willett, 1908-07-04.jpg Thomas Willett 19081959132'x28'x10'9000 gpm
Cornelius W. Lawrence 19081955104'6"x23'6"x9'7000 gpm
Velox 1907192268'x11'6"x7'
Fireboat William J. Gaynor, in 1915 - MNY224077.jpg William J. Gaynor 19141961118'x25'x13.4'7000 gpm
John Purroy Mitchel 19211966132'x27'x10'9000 gpm
Captain Connell 1922193856'6"x12'x6'6"
John J Harvey P66a cloudy jeh.jpg John J. Harvey 19311999130'x28'x9'18,000 gpmnow a private excursion vessel
Firefighter-nhl.JPG Fire Fighter 19381999134'x32'x9'20,000 gpmNow a museum ship
Smoke 1938195553'x7'x3.5'
McKean fireboat jeh.jpg John D. Mc Kean 19542010129'x30'x9'19,000 gpmheld in retired status
H. Sylvia A. H. G. Wilks 19581972105'6"x27'x9'8000 gpm
Harry M. Archer M. D. 19581994105'6"x27'x9'8000 gpm
Smoke II 1958200852'x14'x4'2000 gpm
Senator Robert F. Wagner 19591993105'6"x27'x9'8000 gpm
Gov Alfred E Smith fireboat.jpg Governor Alfred E. Smith 19612015105'6"x27'x9'8000 gpm
Washington DC - DCFD fireboat John H Glenn Jr 02 - 2010-09-16.jpg John H. Glenn, Jr. 1962197770'x21'x5'5000 gpmNow serving in Washington DC
John P. Devaney 1992199470'x19'x5'4"7075 gpmnamed after a firefighter who died in the line of duty
Alfred E. Ronaldson 1992199470'x19'x5'4"7075 gpmnamed after a firefighter who died in the line of duty
FDNY fireboat Kevin C. Kane helps celebrate Fleet Week - 100526-M-4003C-125.jpg Kevin C. Kane 1992201352'x16'x4'6"6500 gpmauctioned off after receiving damage during Hurricane Sandy. [4]
Fireboat Bravest -a.jpg Bravest 2011-64'x17'x3'4"6000 gpmfastest fireboat of its size [5]
Fire fighter 2.jpg Fire Fighter II 2010-140'x36'x9'50,000 gpmone of the largest fireboats in North America [5]
Peter Stehlik - FDNY Three Forty Three - 2012.05.17.jpg Three Forty Three 2010-140'x36'x9'50,000 gpmone of the largest fireboats in North America [5]
William M. Feehan 2015-66'x18'x3'8,000 gpm40 knots (74 km/h) [6]

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The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive/hazardous materials response services and emergency medical response services within the five boroughs of New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fireboat</span> Firefighting vessel

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William M. Feehan</span> American firefighter killed on 9/11

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. He was the second-highest official in the department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David A. Boody</span> American politician

David Augustus Boody was an American lawyer, businessman, and politician who served briefly as a United States representative from New York in 1891.

<i>Fire Fighter</i> (fireboat) New York City fireboat

Fire Fighter is a fireboat which served the New York City Fire Department from 1938 through 2010, serving with Marine Companies 1, 8 and 9 during her career. The most powerful diesel-electric fireboat in terms of pumping capacity when built in 1938, Fire Fighter fought more than 50 major fires during her career, including fires aboard the SS Normandie in 1942 and the SS El Estero in 1943, the 1973 collision of the Esso Brussels and SS Sea Witch, and the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

<i>John D. McKean</i> (fireboat)

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.

<i>Three Forty Three</i>

Three Forty Three is a Ranger 4200 class fireboat that serves the New York City Fire Department as Marine Company 1. Designed by Robert Allan Ltd. and built to replace the 1954 John D. McKean, it was commissioned at 0900 on September 11, 2010, exactly nine years after the 2001 terrorist attacks. It is one of four New York fireboats currently in active service.

<i>Fire Fighter II</i>

Fire Fighter II is a Robert Allan Ltd. Ranger 4200 class fireboat put in service with Marine Company 9 of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) on December 7, 2010. The boat replaces the original Fire Fighter, and is sister to the fireboat Three Forty Three which serves with Marine Company 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fireboats of Chicago</span>

As an important port city, Chicago has operated dedicated fireboats since 1877.

<i>Abram S. Hewitt</i> (fireboat)

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.

<i>Bravest</i> (fireboat)

The Bravest is a fireboat operated by the Fire Department of New York City. She was commissioned on May 27, 2011.

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.

William M. Feehan Triangle is a 0.032-acre (130 m2) public green space in the Broadway-Flushing neighborhood of Queens, New York. It is bound by Bayside Lane, 164th Street, and 27th Avenue. The triangle’s shape is the result of the street grid imposed on the once-rural landscape of Flushing in the 1920s. Bayside Lane predates the grid, cutting across its numbered streets and avenues in a diagonal path. The park is landscaped with trees and shrubs. In 2002, the New York City Council passed legislation to name the triangle for William M. Feehan.

<i>Kevin C. Kane</i>

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 8th, 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.

<i>John Purroy Mitchel</i> (fireboat)

John Purroy Mitchel was a fireboat operated by the FDNY. She was named after former mayor of New York City, John Purroy Mitchel. Grace Drennan, niece of Fire Commissioner Thomas J. Drennan played a ceremonial role in the vessels launch on July 24, 1921. Her launch was also attended by current mayor John Francis Hylan.

<i>Thomas Willett</i> (fireboat)

The Thomas Willett was a fireboat operated by the FDNY. She was launched in 1908 and retired in 1959. She was built as a steam-engine powered vessel with coal-fired boilers. She was converted to oil-fired boilers in 1926.

Washington DC has maintained a fleet of fireboats since 1905. Its largest fireboat is the John Glenn.

<i>William Frederick Havemeyer</i> (fireboat)

William Frederick Havemeyer was New York City's first fireboat. The vessel entered service in 1875, and retired in 1901. She was named in honor of a recent mayor, William Frederick Havemeyer.

The Alfred E. Ronaldson was a fireboat operated briefly by the Fire Department of New York City in 1994. The boat was named after a firefighter who lost his life in the line of duty.

<i>Governor Alfred E. Smith</i> (fireboat)

Governor Alfred E. Smith was a fireboat first operated by the Fire Department of New York in 1961. She was the last of four sister ships. In 1970 the Department planned to retire her, but, instead, she was placed in reserve. She was finally retired on October 21, 2016. Governor Alfred E Smith was built by John H. Mathis & Company at Camden, New Jersey, yard number 216 in August 1961.

References

  1. 1 2 Brian J. Cudahy (1997). "Around Manhattan Island and Other Maritime Tales of New York". Fordham University Press. pp. 83, 86, 249–250. ISBN   9780823217618 . Retrieved 2015-06-29.
  2. "FDNY Annual Report 2012" (PDF). FDNY. 2012. Retrieved 2015-06-30. Additionally, FDNY expects to take delivery of the following 10 boats by January 2013: seven 33-foot boats, two 31-foot medical response boats and one 33-foot SCUBA boat.
  3. Clarence E. Meek (July 1954). "Fireboats Through The Years" . Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  4. Jon Gast (2017-01-03). "NYC fireboat finds new home in Door Co". Green Bay Press-Gazette . Retrieved 2017-01-05. t was neither of those momentous events that led directly to why that vessel finds itself in Door County, but rather another. The Kane was damaged in Hurricane Sandy, the epic superstorm that ravaged the East Coast in October 2012. The boat was also in need of a mechanical upgrade, so the city opted for a replacement and auctioned it off.
  5. 1 2 3 Peter Marsh (February 2011). "SAFE Boats International Delivers One of the World's Fastest Fireboats to New York: The 64-foot Bravest Made Its Debut in Seattle" (PDF). NW Yachting magazine . Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  6. Peter Kennedy (2015-08-06). "Kingston-built fireboat immortalizes 9/11 victim". Kingston Whig Standard . Retrieved 2015-08-10. Just shy of 21 metres in length, the William M. Feehan is powered by a trio of Caterpillar C-18 engines, each capable of pushing out 1,150 horsepower, with twin fuel tanks splitting 4,500 litres. Running at a top speed of 40 knots (about 75 km/h), it can stop in two boat lengths.