Fireboats of San Francisco

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As a major port a number of fireboats of San Francisco have been operated by the city of San Francisco since 1878. [1]

fireboats of San Francisco
imagenameentered
service
retirednotes
Fireboat governor irwin.jpg Governor Irwin 18781909
Governor Markham 1895
Postcard showing San Francisco fireboat David Scannel, 1912 (cropped).jpg David Scannell 19091954
  • Steam powered. [1]
Postcard showing San Francisco fireboat Dennis T. Sullivan, 1912 (cropped).jpg Dennis T. Sullivan 19091954
Frank G. White 19471978
  • A tugboat with fire-fighting capability, which would be called into service for particularly serious fires, or when the full-time fireboats were undergoing maintenance. [7]
Phoenix fireboat No. 1 of the SFFD.jpg Phoenix 1955
SFFD fireboat Guardian.JPG Guardian 1990
  • The Guardian was donated to the city by private citizens after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The pumps of the Phoenix played a key role in fire prevention in areas where the earthquake had broken water mains.
  • The vessel had previously served in Vancouver, British Columbia.
San Francisco's new fireboat 2016-10-06 -a.jpg St. Francis 2016 [12]
  • In October 2014, San Francisco started building a modern fireboat. [1] [13] [14] [15]
  • Is capable of pumping 18,000 gallons per minute through five water cannons. [14]
  • She will be equipped with a stern launch ramp, similar to those US Coast Guard cutters use to deploy pursuit boats to capture smugglers. [14]
  • One of the department's older fireboats may be retired when the new vessel enters service. [15]

United States Navy fireboats USS Leslie, USS Fortune and USS Active were employed to fight the fires triggered in the aftermath of the disastrous 1906 San Francisco earthquake. [16] [17] These vessels were not operated by the San Francisco Fire Department, which did not have any active fireboats at the time of the disaster.

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Fireboat

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.

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<i>Phoenix</i> (fireboat)

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.

<i>Guardian</i> (fireboat)

Guardian is a fireboat owned by San Francisco Fire Department and operated in the San Francisco Bay since 1990 in reserve status. Guardian was a gift to the people of San Francisco by anonymous donors following the notable role of the fireboat Phoenix in helping to save the Marina District buildings from further destruction by fire following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Both Guardian and Phoenix fireboats are based at Firehouse No. 35 at Pier 22½ of the Port of San Francisco. Guardian has 5 pumps which can deliver up to 26,000 gallons of water per minute, significantly more than Phoenix

<i>David Scannell</i> (fireboat)

The David Scannell was a steam-powered fireboat built for and operated by the San Francisco Fire Department. The city had no fireboats at the time of the disastrous 1906 San Francisco earthquake, so United States Navy fireboats had to travel there to help fight the extensive fires in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Fireboats of San Diego

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 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.

Department of Homeland Security Port Security Grant Funding grant program for fire-boats

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.

Fireboats of Duluth

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.

<i>St. Francis</i> (fireboat)

St. Francis is a fireboat operated by the San Francisco Fire Department on San Francisco Bay since 2016. Also known as Fireboat 3, she was given the official name on October 17, 2016, the anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Local schoolchildren helped pick the vessel's name.

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Governor Irwin (fireboat)

The Governor Irwin was a fireboat operated in San Francisco, California from 1878 to 1909. She was steam powered. She participated in the recovery after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. She was owned by the State of California, she could only pump a modest 1000 gallons per minute.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Joanne Hayes-White. "New fireboat project" (PDF). San Francisco Fire Department . Retrieved 2014-10-13.
  2. 1 2 "San Francisco Fire Department Museum ~ Fireboats ~ Governor Irwin". Guardiansofthecity.org. Archived from the original on 2012-03-04. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
  3. "San Francisco Fire Department 1906 Earthquake and Fire Operations". Sfmuseum.org. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
  4. "Port of San Francisco Fireboat: Governor Markham". Guardiansofthecity.org. Retrieved 2019-10-21. Negotiations between the State of California, who owned the Port of San Francisco at that time, and the City and County of San Francisco as to who would pay for her fire protection services were never concluded. Due to this fact, there are no records in the San Francisco Fire Department of the Governor Markham’s fire service.
  5. Erika Lee, Judy Yung (200). Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America. Oxford University Press. p. 300. ISBN   9780199752799 . Retrieved 2014-10-13.
  6. "Dennis T. Sullivan". Guardians of the City . Retrieved 2014-10-13.
  7. "SFFD Fireboats: Frank G. White". Guardiansofthecity.org. Retrieved 2019-10-21. The Frank White was a tugboat owned by the State of California, the operator the Port of San Francisco. Because of its firefighting capabilities, the Department had an agreement with the Port to use The Frank White during fires. When a greater alarm was called at a pier fire, the White would stop its tug operations and proceed to the fire.
  8. Donna Peck (2001). San Francisco: Romantic Diversions in and Around the City. Globe Pequot. pp. 73, 161. ISBN   9780762708468 . Retrieved 2014-10-13.
  9. Brent Begin (November 9, 2009). "New skin for an old fire station". San Francisco Examiner . Archived from the original on 2012-03-26. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
  10. "Guralnick Designs City's New Fireboat". Marine Digest. 58: 42. 1980.
  11. "SFFD Fireboats: Phoenix" . Retrieved March 30, 2011.
  12. Carl Nolte (2016-10-17). "SF welcomes new fireboat to fleet on anniversary of Loma Prieta". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved 2016-10-16. The new boat, painted red and white, will be the city’s third fireboat. It was named St. Francis and christened with the traditional bottle of Champagne by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who helped get $8 million in federal grants, the majority of the cost.
  13. Cheryl Jennings (2014-10-13). "Lessons learned from Loma Prieta earthquake". ABC. Archived from the original on 2014-10-14. San Francisco is now building a third more modern fire boat, but still needs funding for more portable hydrants.
  14. 1 2 3 Peter Ong (2014-12-16). "Meet SFFD's New Fireboat Technology". Marinelink. Archived from the original on 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2014-12-16. Surrounded on three sides by water with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Golden Gate Strait to the north, and San Francisco Bay to the East, the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) currently relies on two old and refurbished fireboats, the Phoenix (built in 1954) and the Guardian (built in 1951) to serve as fire protection assets for the waters around the City.
  15. 1 2 "Third fireboat to join city's legendary fleet". San Francisco Examiner. 2015-11-24. Deputy Chief of Administration Raymond Guzman told Fire Commissioners at a meeting in late October that the department may need to decommission one of the boats. “At this point we’re going to have three fireboats for a while and we still need to determine whether we’re going to keep two or three,” he said.
  16. "Navy Firefighting Operations". Sfmuseum.org. 1906-04-30. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
  17. "USFS Chicago 1906 Fire Operations". Sfmuseum.org. Retrieved 2012-03-08.