The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive/hazardous materials response services and emergency medical response services within the five boroughs of New York City.
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.
William Michael Feehan was a member of the Fire Department of New York who died during the collapse of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks. He was the second-highest official in the department.
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 1943, the 1973 collision of the Esso Brussels and SS Sea Witch, and the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
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.
Fire Fighter II is a Robert Allan Ltd. Ranger 4200 class fireboat put in service with Marine Company 9 of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) on December 7, 2010. The boat replaces the original Fire Fighter, and is sister to the fireboat Three Forty Three which serves with Marine Company 1.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 Salish Star is a fireboat operated by the city of Bellingham, Washington. The vessel cost approximately $1 million. The Department of Homeland Security supplied three quarters of the cost through a FEMA Port Security Grant. The Port of Bellingham and the city of Bellingham provided the remainder.
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.
Washington DC has maintained a fleet of fireboats since 1905. Its largest fireboat is the John Glenn.
William Frederick Havemeyer was New York City's first fireboat. The vessel entered service in 1875, and retired in 1901. She was named in honor of a recent mayor, William Frederick Havemeyer.
As a major port, there is a long history of fireboats in Singapore.
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.
Governor Alfred E. Smith was a fireboat first operated by the Fire Department of New York in 1961. She was the last of four sister ships. In 1970 the Department planned to retire her, but, instead, she was placed in reserve. She was finally retired on October 21, 2016. Governor Alfred E Smith was built by John H. Mathis & Company at Camden, New Jersey, yard number 216 in August 1961.
Splinter fleet or Splinter navy was a nickname given to the United States wooden boats used in World War II. The boats served in many different roles during the war. These boats were built in small boatyards on the West coast and East coast, Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. They could be built quickly, in just 60 to 120 days. Most of the boats were built by boatyards that already had the tools and knowledge from building yachts, sailboats and motor boats. Many were built by craftsmen in family-owned small businesses. Under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program and War Shipping Administration contracts went out to over fifty boatyards across the country. The boats were built for the US Navy, the United States Army Air Forces, United States Coast Guard, and US Army. Some of the wooden boats went to Allied nations on the Lend-Lease program.
New York City Fire Department 