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.[1] 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.[2]

some fireboats of the FDNY[3][1]
image name commissioned retired dimensions pumping
capacity		 notes
William F. Havemeyer 1875 1901 106'x22'x10' 6000 gpm
Zophar Mills 1882 1934 120'x25'x12' 6000 gpm
Seth Low 1885 1917 99'x24'x9' 3500 gpm Brooklyn FD
The New Yorker 1890 1931 125'x26'x12' 13,000 gpm
David A. Boody 1892 1914 105'x23'x7' 6500 gpm
William L. Strong 1898 1948 100'x24'x12.6' 6500 gpm
Robert A. van Wyck 1898
Abram S. Hewitt 1903 1958 117'x25'x10'6" 7000 gpm
George B. McClellan 1904 1954 117'x24'x9'6" 7000 gpm
James Duane 1908 1959 132'x28'x10' 9000 gpm
Thomas Willett 1908 1959 132'x28'x10' 9000 gpm
Cornelius W. Lawrence 1908 1955 104'6"x23'6"x9' 7000 gpm
Velox 1907 1922 68'x11'6"x7'
William J. Gaynor 1914 1961 118'x25'x13.4' 7000 gpm
John Purroy Mitchel 1921 1966 132'x27'x10' 9000 gpm
Captain Connell 1922 1938 56'6"x12'x6'6"
John J. Harvey 1931 1999 130'x28'x9' 18,000 gpm now a private excursion vessel
Fire Fighter 1938 1999 134'x32'x9' 20,000 gpm Now a museum ship
Smoke 1938 1955 53'x7'x3.5'
John D. Mc Kean 1954 2010 129'x30'x9' 19,000 gpm held in retired status
H. Sylvia A. H. G. Wilks 1958 1972 105'6"x27'x9' 8000 gpm
Harry M. Archer M. D. 1958 1994 105'6"x27'x9' 8000 gpm
Smoke II 1958 2008 52'x14'x4' 2000 gpm
Senator Robert F. Wagner 1959 1993 105'6"x27'x9' 8000 gpm
Governor Alfred E. Smith 1961 2015 105'6"x27'x9' 8000 gpm
John H. Glenn, Jr. 1962 1977 70'x21'x5' 5000 gpm Now serving in Washington DC
John P. Devaney 1992 1994 70'x19'x5'4" 7075 gpm named after a firefighter who died in the line of duty
Alfred E. Ronaldson 1992 1994 70'x19'x5'4" 7075 gpm named after a firefighter who died in the line of duty
Kevin C. Kane 1992 2013 52'x16'x4'6" 6500 gpm auctioned off after receiving damage during Hurricane Sandy.[4]
Bravest 2011 - 64'x17'x3'4" 6000 gpm fastest fireboat of its size[5]
Fire Fighter II 2010 - 140'x36'x9' 50,000 gpm one of the largest fireboats in North America[5]
Three Forty Three 2010 - 140'x36'x9' 50,000 gpm one of the largest fireboats in North America[5]
William M. Feehan 2015 - 66'x18'x3' 8,000 gpm 40 knots (74 km/h)[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Brian J. Cudahy (1997). "Around Manhattan Island and Other Maritime Tales of New York". Fordham University Press. pp. 83, 86, 249–250. ISBN 9780823217618. Retrieved 2015-06-29.
  2. ^ "FDNY Annual Report 2012" (PDF). FDNY. 2012. Retrieved 2015-06-30. Additionally, FDNY expects to take delivery of the following 10 boats by January 2013: seven 33-foot boats, two 31-foot medical response boats and one 33-foot SCUBA boat.
  3. ^ Clarence E. Meek (July 1954). "Fireboats Through The Years". Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  4. ^ Jon Gast (2017-01-03). "NYC fireboat finds new home in Door Co". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved 2017-01-05. t was neither of those momentous events that led directly to why that vessel finds itself in Door County, but rather another. The Kane was damaged in Hurricane Sandy, the epic superstorm that ravaged the East Coast in October 2012. The boat was also in need of a mechanical upgrade, so the city opted for a replacement and auctioned it off.
  5. ^ a b c Peter Marsh (February 2011). "SAFE Boats International Delivers One of the World's Fastest Fireboats to New York: The 64-foot Bravest Made Its Debut in Seattle" (PDF). NW Yachting magazine. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  6. ^ Peter Kennedy (2015-08-06). "Kingston-built fireboat immortalizes 9/11 victim". Kingston Whig Standard. Retrieved 2015-08-10. Just shy of 21 metres in length, the William M. Feehan is powered by a trio of Caterpillar C-18 engines, each capable of pushing out 1,150 horsepower, with twin fuel tanks splitting 4,500 litres. Running at a top speed of 40 knots (about 75 km/h), it can stop in two boat lengths.

External links

Fleets of fireboats by location
New York City Fire Department
Categories