Governor Alfred E. Smith was a fireboat first operated by the Fire Department of New York in 1961. [1] She was the last of four sister ships. [2] In 1970 the Department planned to retire her, but, instead, she was placed in reserve. She was finally retired on October 21, 2016. [3] Governor Alfred E Smith was built by John H Mathis & Company at Camden, New Jersey, yard number 216 in August 1961. [4]
In 1967 the crew of Governor Alfred E. Smith distinguished themselves when two tankers collided. [1] 33 men died when Alva Cape and Texaco Massachusetts collided. Four more men died, two days later, when salvage workers tried to make the wrecks safe, by emptying their tanks, and Alva Cape exploded. Governor Alfred E. Smith's captain was blown overboard. They were credited with saving 70 lives. [5]
According to Mayor John Lindsay "The fireboat literally sailed into the hold of one of the ships, where a lava-like flow of naphtha was pouring out, and smothered it with foam." [5]
In 2016 she was sold to developers, who planned to turn her into a floating restaurant. [6] [7]
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.
John J. Harvey is a fireboat formerly of the New York City Fire Department in New York City, famed for returning to service following the September 11, 2001 attacks. She is among the most powerful fireboats ever built, capable of pumping up to 18,000 gallons of water a minute.
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.
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 1944, the 1973 collision of the Esso Brussels and SS Sea Witch, and the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
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.
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.
Sea Witch was a MARAD Type C5-S-73b container ship built at the Bath Iron Works shipyard for American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines. She operated in the Atlantic trades for five years. So engaged on the evening of June 1, 1973, the vessel was involved in a disastrous collision with the oil tanker Esso Brussels in lower New York Harbor and was damaged so badly that she was removed from active service.
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. 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.
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.
The John P. Devaney 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.
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.
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.
The Fire Department of New York operated a fireboat named William J. Gaynor from 1914 to 1961.
The 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.
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.
The 1958 East River collision occurred on the morning of June 25, 1958, two ships collided in the East River in New York City, resulting in a fire, a gasoline spill, and the deaths of two crewmembers.
In June 1966, the British oil tanker MV Alva Cape caught fire twice in New York Harbor, first in a collision with tanker SS Texaco Massachusetts, and next while unloading cargo, and was subsequently scuttled offshore. Several dozen people were killed in the two fires.
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.
The H. Sylvia A. H. G. Wilks was a fireboat operated by the Fire Department of New York City. The Wilks, and another fireboat, the Harry M. Archer, were both commissioned on January 17, 1958. Both vessels were 105 feet (32 m) long, displaced 292 tons, and had a maximum speed of 13 knots (24 km/h). She cost $900,222.
Built in 1961 by the John H. Mathis Company's ship yard in Camden, N. J., the fireboat was the last of four identical boats built for New York City. It cost $907,077. It has a speed of 11.3 knots and displaces 290 tons.
The “Governor Alfred E. Smith,” latest acquisition of the Marine Division, FDNY, was placed in service on October 5. Built at a cost of some $907,000 in Camden, N. J., by Mathis Shipbuilding Co., it is nearly identical to the Fireboats Wagner, Wilkes and Archer. Constructed with a welded steel hull, it displaces 292 tons, measures 105 feet, 6 inches over-all length, has a beam of 25 feet, 6 inches and a draft of 9 feet. Two Enterprise 500-hp diesel engines coupled to twin Wegner controllablepitch propellers, give it a rated speed of 13 mph. Two pumping engines, also 500-hp Enterprise, drive two Worthington pumps rated at a total capacity of 8,000 gpm. Safety features include Decca radar and Raytheon Fathometer installations. A special feature of the new fireboat is the inclusion of an auxiliary fire-rescue craft on…
The fireboat Alfred E. Smith, captained by Lt. Robert Summervell, conducted a heart-stopping maneuver, rushing up to the Alva to contain its leak. As Mayor John Lindsay described it, 'The fireboat literally sailed into the hold of one of the ships, where a lava-like flow of naphtha was pouring out, and smothered it with foam.'
The Governor Alfred E. Smith, renamed simply “The Governor,” was purchased at auction earlier this month and its new owners have ambitious plans to transform the boat into a unique dining experience.
As Brooklyn Bridge Park announced in December 2018, the Pincus brothers will dock a restored FDNY fire boat, the Governor Alfred E. Smith, on the north side of Fulton Ferry Landing Pier. The historic boat will have additional cafe and bar seating.