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.
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 city's first fireboat, the Bill Kettner, was named after San Diego's Congressional Representative William Kettner. [2] The vessel was built by the city's own firefighters in their own workshop. [3] She was commissioned in 1919.
The Point Loma II, a small patrol vessel with a modest pumping capacity, served from 1957 to 1977. [2] She had a single water cannon, only capable of pumping 1,200 gallons per hour. [4]
The Bill Kettner was retired in 1961, when she was replaced by the Shelter Island. [2] The Shelter Island had two water cannon, capable of pumping 2,000 gallons per minute and 1,000 gallons per minute. [4] A third vessel, the Harbor Island, was also put into service. [4] She had a single water cannon, capable of pumping 2000 gallons per minute. The Shelter Island and Harbor Island are named after "islands" (actually peninsulas) in the San Diego Bay.
On June 26, 2015, a new high speed vessel christened the Marine 3 began operation by the San Diego Lifeguard Department. [5] San Diego Lifeguard Services is a unit of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. [6] The vessel is equipped for both search and rescue and firefighting duties. It is equipped with infrared and other sensors, for helping to find missing sailors and lost boats. The two water cannon, each capable of pumping 12,000 gallons per minute, can be remotely controlled from the cabin. The lifeguard department's previous rescue and fire vessel had just a single water cannon, capable of pumping only 500 gallons per minute. The vessel cost $1 million, and its projected life is 25 years.
The San Diego Harbor Police is the law enforcement authority for the Port of San Diego. It provides uniformed police services as well as marine firefighting. [7] The department has an area of responsibility that includes the San Diego Bay shorelines of the cities of San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, and Coronado. Harbor Police officers are cross-trained in law enforcement and firefighting. [8]
On November 22, 2010, the city accepted two new fireboats, to be operated by the San Diego Harbor Police, that were paid for by a port security grant from the federal Department of Homeland Security. [9] [10] The two new vessels each have three water cannon. They replaced three older and less capable vessels, that had been in service for 35 years. In 2011 the City of San Diego agreed to accept three more vessels, under another grant from the Department of Homeland Security. The five identical vessels are MetalCraft FireStorm 36 fireboats and are capable of approximately 2,200 gallons per minute. [8]
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.
Ralph J. Scott, also formerly known as Fireboat #2, is a 100-foot (30 m) fireboat that was attached to the Los Angeles Fire Department serving the Port of Los Angeles. She was retired in 2003 after 78 years and replaced by Warner L. Lawrence. Ralph J. Scott is undergoing restoration near the Los Angeles Maritime Museum in San Pedro. On 30 June 1989, she was listed as a National Historic Landmark. She is currently located at the Los Angeles Fire Department, Fire Station 112, at 444 South Harbor Blvd, Berth 86, San Pedro, California.
Phoenix is a fireboat owned by State of California and operated by the city of San Francisco in the San Francisco Bay since 1955. Phoenix is known for helping to save Marina District buildings from further destruction by fire following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Her worthy assistance resulted in a second vintage fireboat obtained for the city. Both Guardian and Phoenix are based at Firehouse No. 35 at Pier 22½ of the Port of San Francisco. Phoenix often leads parades of ships, and takes part in welcoming ceremonies.
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.
The City of Long Beach, California started to operate a new fireboat, now known as the Protector, in May 2014. The vessel was known as Fireboat 20, until she was officially commissioned, on June 8, 2016. A sister ship will follow within a year. The two new vessels will replace the Challenger and the Liberty, commissioned in 1987. The earlier vessels had a troubled maintenance record. She will be one of the most powerful fireboats in the world.
The Mystic Connecticut fireboat Joseph B. Herman II was paid for with funds from the Port Security Grant Program, a special fund to combat terrorism. The fireboat cost $700,000. Following the attacks on September 11, 2001, the US Federal government began issuing generous grants to regional police, fire and other emergency handling agencies, to pay for infrastructure that could be used to combat a terrorist attack.
The Robert L. Bedell is a fireboat operated by the Norwalk Connecticut Fire Department. The vessel was supplied to the city via a Department of Homeland Security grant through the Port Security Grant Fund. She was ordered in 2009 and delivered in October 2012. It is named after a longtime member of the department who died in 2004.
The Nathan Hale is an emergency vessel operated by the city of New Haven, Connecticut. She serves both the New Haven Fire Department and the New Haven Police Department.
The Bill Kettner was San Diego, California's first fireboat. She was a 59 feet (18 m) and staffed by a crew of seven. She was named after William Kettner, who was then San Diego's Congressional Representative.
The New Yorker was a fireboat operated by the Fire Department of New York City from 1890 to 1931. She was launched on April 5, 1890 in the presence of Fire Commissioner S. Howland Robbins.
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.
Since 2002, the Department of Homeland Security has provided Port Security Grants to ports within the United States, to build fireboats. These vessels are thought to help keep the entire United States safer, because, in addition to fighting local fires, they are all equipped to help counter nuclear fallout, chemical weapons and biological weapons.
Leschi, named for the native American leader Chief Leschi, is a fireboat operated by the Seattle Fire Department. The ship was laid down in 2006 and commissioned in 2007; its sponsor was Sharon Nickels, wife of the then-mayor Greg Nickels.
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.
California's major ports have long traditions of maintaining dedicated fireboats, and, soon after Al Qaeda's attack on September 1st, 2001, FEMA started issuing port security grants equipping fireboats for California's smaller ports, that are also equipped to work when hazardous materials have been released.
The Harry Newell is a highspeed fireboat operated out of Ketchikan, Alaska, since August, 1986. She is built of aluminum, is 45 feet (14 m) long, is propelled by a pair of 410 brake horsepower (310 kW) diesel engines, at up to 30 knots (56 km/h). Her pumps can throw 5,000 gallons per minute through four water cannons.
The James Duane was a fireboat operated by the Fire Department of New York from 1908 to 1959.
As a major port, there is a long history of fireboats in Singapore.
Vigilance is a fireboat operated by Long Beach, California. It is the second of two large fireboats Long Beach commissioned and the largest on North America's West Coast.
In 1919, the San Diego Fire Department christened the first gasoline powered fire boat in the world. The boat, the "Bill Kettner" was built from the keel up at the San Diego Fire Department shop, by firefighters.
As a child, I remember seeing the 59-foot fireboat Bill Kettner operating in San Diego harbor. On one occasion I saw the fireboat crew shooting water up toward the sky. It was a beautiful sight.
Several local leaders gathered Friday to christen Marine 3, which is a lifeguard fire boat. It will be used for many jobs, including rescue missions and support in fighting fires.
When compared to the boats in use for the past 35 years, the newer vessels can shoot water farther and out of three cannons instead of just one.
Two San Diego Harbor Police boats used water cannons and foam to extinguish the fire around 12:30 p.m. Monday.