At least six Fireboats in Toronto have helped protect the city's waterfront and maritime commerce. [1]
| name | image | in service | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nellie Bly |  | 1906–1909 | Steam tug provided fire protection on Toronto Islands. [1] |
| T.J. Clark |  | 1909–1923 | |
| Charles A. Reed |  | 1923–1963? |
|
| Rouille later HMCS Rouille |  | 1929–1943 |
|
| William Lyon Mackenzie |  | 1963–present |
|
| Sora |  | 2005–2015 |
|
| William Thornton |  | October 2015–present |
|
Duwamish is a retired fireboat in the United States. She is the second oldest vessel designed to fight fires in the US, after Edward M. Cotter, in Buffalo, New York.
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.
Toronto Fire Services (TFS), commonly called Toronto Fire, provides fire protection, technical rescue services, hazardous materials response, and first responder emergency medical assistance in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto Fire Services is currently the largest municipal fire department in Canada.
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.
CCGS Sora was a 12.5m Small Multi Task Utility Craft that has seen service with the Canadian Coast Guard and Toronto Fire Services. It was deployed for medium range task and perform under moderate to high speed in moderate weather conditions and in sheltered waters in station mode. In 2005, it was transferred to Toronto and used as part of the Fire Services fleet. It was finally retired in 2015.
William Lyon Mackenzie, is a fireboat operated by Toronto Fire Services (TFS) which provides marine fire fighting and icebreaking capabilities within the Toronto Harbour. Built by Russel Brothers in 1964, it is named after William Lyon Mackenzie, the first mayor of Toronto. In 2004 the fireboat was refurbished and it is expected to be in service until 2037.
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.
The County class is a class of offshore patrol vessels built for the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard (JDF). Based on the Dutch Damen Stan 4207 patrol vessel, the first vessel entered service in 2005. Three were originally purchased, but only one remains in service with the JDF. In 2017, an additional two vessels were purchased and both remain in service as of 2023. The Jamaican vessels are equipped with a stern launching ramp, capable of deploying and retrieving a small jet boat, for rescue or pursuit. The vessels' bridge electronics were supplied by Alphatron Marine.
The T.J. Clark was a fireboat, ferry and cargo vessel, that was operated in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from 1911 to 1959. She was powered by a pair of steam engines manufactured by Polson Iron Works.
The Charles A. Reed was the City of Toronto's first official fireboat. She was commissioned in 1923. Previously the privately owned T.J. Clark had provided firefighting capability.
The city of Vancouver, British Columbia, has operated fireboats since 1928, when the city introduced the J.H. Carlisle.
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.
William Thornton (1826–1848) was a Canadian firefighter. He was the first firefighter in Toronto to die in the line of duty. He was mortally wounded by a falling wall on November 22, 1848, suffering a severely fractured skull and other injuries. He died of his injuries two days later.
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.
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.
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.
CCGS Cape Hurd is a 21.4-metre (70 ft) mid-shore patrol vessel formerly serving with the Canadian Coast Guard and last stationed in Sarnia, Ontario. The vessel is classed for inland waters with no ice-class. It now serves as a fireboat in Toronto.
The Snoqualmie was Seattle's first fireboat. She was the first fireboat on North America's west coast. She was launched in 1891, as a 98 feet (30 m) long, wooden-hulled, steam-powered vessel. She was taken out of service, and rebuilt when Seattle completed its second fireboat, the Duwamish, in 1909. Her coal-fueled boilers were replaced with oil-fueled ones. The retrofit included altering her profile. She had a new superstructure, and the replacement of her boiler meant replacing her original single smokestack with a pair of smokestacks. Built by Pacific Coast Engineering.
The Fire Department of New York operated a fireboat named William J. Gaynor from 1914 to 1961.
The James Duane was a fireboat operated by the Fire Department of New York from 1908 to 1959.
The Reed was of wooden construction, long, low, lean and elegant in appearance. Carrying a crew of five persons, the Charles A. Reed was fitted with two motors, one for propulsion and one for pumping.
"T. J." was fitted with fire fighting equipment and she served, in addition to her regular duties, as harbour and island fireboat until 1923 when the Toronto Fire Department took delivery of its own vessel, the wooden pumper CITY OF TORONTO T. F. D., soon renamed CHARLES A. REED.
It will replace the Sora, another former Coast Guard vessel obtained by Toronto in 2006.
In November 2014, Toronto Fire Services (TFS) acquired a decommissioned vessel, "Cape Hurd" from the Canadian Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has retained the name. The vessel will replace the current back-up vessel, "Sora", obtained from the Coast Guard in 2006