Fireboats of Philadelphia

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As a major port, the Philadelphia city government has operated multiple fireboats. [1]

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Edwin S. Stuart 1893 ? ?
  • named after one of Philadelphia's mayors. [2]
J. Hampton Moore 1922 ? ?
  • named after one of Philadelphia's mayors. [2]
Bernard Samuel (fireboat)  ? ?
  • named after one of Philadelphia's mayors. [2]
Delaware 19506,000
  • The Benjamin Franklin and the Delaware are sister ships. [3]
  • Still in operation in 2015. [2]
Benjamin Franklin 19506,000
  • The Benjamin Franklin and the Delaware are sister ships. [3]
  • Still in operation in 2015. [2]
Independence 20077000
  • Specially designed to be low enough to travel beneath key Philadelphia bridges. [4]
  • Her largest water cannon is on a raisable mast, and is operated by remote control. [4]

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Philadelphia, commonly referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the second-most populous city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. It is one of the most historically significant cities in the United States and served as the nation's capital until 1800. Philadelphia is the nation's sixth-most populous city with a population of 1,603,797 as of the 2020 census. Since 1854, the city has been coextensive with Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the larger Delaware Valley, the nation's seventh-largest and one of the world's largest metropolitan regions with a "metropolitan statistical area" consisting of 6.245 million residents and a "combined statistical area" containing a population of 7.366 million residents. Philadelphia is known for its extensive contributions to American history, especially the American Revolution, and for its contemporary influence in business and industry, culture, sports, and music.

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References

  1. "Special Report: Fireboats; Then and Now" (PDF). FEMA. p. 18, 19, 27. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2004-09-21. Retrieved 2017-01-05. For example, the Port of Philadelphia is the sixth busiest port in the United States with over 2,700 ports of call made annually by commercial vessels. Yet their fireboats average only one response every two weeks.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Patrolling the Delaware: Philadelphia's Fireboats". Firemans Hall . 2015-03-03. Archived from the original on 2016-08-22. Retrieved 2018-09-05. The Independence is the PFD's newest fireboat and was put into service in 2007 but this new boat's design does not waver much from the original fireboat, the Edwin S. Stuart, which was put into service in 1893.
  3. 1 2 "Fireboats - Philadelphia, PA, - Baltimore, MD - Chicago, Il" . Retrieved 2018-09-05. The Franklin and the Delaware are sister ships built in 1950 at RTC shipbuilding in Camden, NJ.
  4. 1 2 "Ranger 2000 class fireboat Independence for Philadelphia from Robert Allan Ltd". Robert Allan Limited . 2007-12-20. Retrieved 2018-09-05. This new fast response, shallow-draft fireboat, which is of all-welded aluminium construction, is designed to specifically address the fire fighting and rescue needs of the Philadelphia region waterfront.