The ''C.D. Scully'' was a fireboat constructed for

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. The vessel was owned by Pittsburgh from its completion, in 1956, until its sale to

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, in 1973. She had been out of service for some time, when she was sold. She cost $91,500, in 1956, and was sold for $50,000. In March 1951 an editorial in ''

Fire Engineering Fire protection engineering is the application of science and engineering principles to protect people, property, and their environments from the harmful and destructive effects of fire and smoke. It encompasses engineering which focuses on fire ...

'' described a serious fire on Pittsburgh's waterfront, in December 1950, that the City couldn't properly fight, because they then had no fireboat. The editor argued that too much of the extensive expenditures in

civil defense Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, miti ...

were being concentrated too much on bomb shelters, with insufficient funding for fire-fighting equipment. The ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

'' quoted Fire Chief Thomas Kennelly, who said the city did not need a fireboat. ''"We don't have any wharves or piers and any fire we have can be handled by our land fire fighting force."'' She was long. In 2015 and 2016 Pittsburgh experienced fires that put a focus on its need to acquire a new fireboat, and in December 2016 a new boat was ordered.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite news , url = http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2015/11/07/ohio-river-boat-fire/ , title = Boat Catches Fire On Ohio River, Prompts Discussion About Fire Boat Necessity , work =

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

, author = Bob Allen , date = 2015-11-07 , page = , location = , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170212052721/http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2015/11/07/ohio-river-boat-fire/ , archive-date = 2017-02-12 , access-date = 2016-12-18 , url-status = live , quote = The last time the city had a fire boat was in 1973, but at the time, the administration though the C.D. Scully wasn’t needed and it was sold. Ralph Sicuro, president of the Pittsburgh Firefighters Union, wonders if the city is prepared to fight a fire on the river on a larger scale. {{cite news , url = http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/10459496-74/fireboat-pittsburgh-river , title = City of Pittsburgh eyes fireboat costing $400K , publisher =

Tribune Live Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on the ...

, author = Bob Bauder , date = 2016-05-13 , page = , location = , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161220184000/http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/10459496-74/fireboat-pittsburgh-river , archive-date = 2016-12-20 , access-date = 2016-12-14 , url-status = live , quote = Pittsburgh retired its last fireboat — christened the C.D. Scully in honor of former Mayor Cornelius D. Scully — and sold it in 1973 to Tampa for $50,000. {{cite news , url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19730630&id=dJ9RAAAAIBAJ&pg=3305,4133187 , title = $50,000 offer for city fireboat , publisher =

, author = , date = , page = 6 , location = , archive-url = , archive-date = , access-date = 2016-12-14 {{cite news , url = https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/148010110/ , title = Powerful little squirt , publisher = Pittsburgh Press , author = , date = 1957-06-02 , page = 126 , location = , archive-url = , archive-date = , access-date = 2016-12-14 {{cite news , url = http://www.fireengineering.com/content/dam/fe/online-articles/documents/2013/195103FEeditorsopinion.pdf , title = With the Editor: Fire, the real danger , publisher =

, author = , date = March 1951 , page = , location = , isbn = , archive-url = , archive-date = , access-date = 2016-12-18 , quote = What proponents of this and like civil defense measures to dump money into civil defense schemes of doubtful and uncertain value apparently fail to appreciate is that (1) the gravest threat in any modern enemy attack on this nation is fire (from atom bomb, high explosive bomb and incendiary bomb) ; and (2) Fire is the most serious threat to our fire defense preparations—our defense production and stockpiling! Fireboats of the United States