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.
They are frequently used for
fighting fires on
docks and shore side
warehouse
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, ...
s as they can directly attack fires in the supporting underpinnings of these structures. They also have an effectively unlimited supply of water available, pumping directly from below the hull. Fireboats can be used to assist shore-based firefighters when other water is in low supply or is unavailable, for example, due to earthquake breakage of water mains, as happened in San Francisco due to the
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on California's Central Coast on October 17 at local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of ...
.
Some modern fireboats are capable of pumping tens of thousands of gallons of water per minute. An example is Fire Boat #2 of the
Los Angeles Fire Department, the ''
Warner Lawrence'', with the capability to pump up to and up to in the air.
Fireboats are most usually seen by the public when welcoming a fleet or historical ships with a display of their water moving capabilities, throwing large arcs of water in every direction.
Occasionally fireboats are used to carry firefighters,
Emergency Medical Technician
An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics a ...
s, and a physician with their equipment to islands and other boats. Some may be used as
icebreakers, like the
Chicago Fire Department's ''
Victor L. Schlaeger'' which can break 8 to 12 inch ice.
They may also carry divers or surface water rescue workers. Passengers from ships in danger can be also transferred to various kind of rescue boats. Rescue boats may be used also for oil and chemical destruction on rivers, lakes and seas. For example, the Helsinki Rescue Department in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland has different types of boats for various kind of firefighting, rescue, and oil destruction tasks.
Also
hydrocopters,
rigid-hulled inflatable boats,
fanboats and even
hovercraft and
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribut ...
s are used in fire, rescue and medical emergency situations.
Cities with fireboats are usually located on a large body of water with port facilities. Smaller fire departments lacking resources will use a
rigid-hulled inflatable boat or borrow boats from local rescue agencies (EMS, Coast Guard, military).
History
The first recorded fire-float was built in 1765 for the Sun Fire Insurance Company in London. This was a
manual pump in a small boat, rowed by its crew to the scene of the fire. A similar craft was built in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...
by James Hillhouse for the Imperial Fire Insurance Office in the 1780s. All fire fighting in Bristol was carried out either by private insurance companies or the Docks Company until the formation of the Bristol Fire Brigade as a branch of the police in 1876. In New York City, a small boat with a hand-pump was used to fight marine fires as early as 1809.
[http://www.fireboat.org/FEMAfireboatsthennowMay2003.pdf ] By the middle of the nineteenth century, self-propelled steam-fire-floats were beginning to be introduced. The FDNY leased the
salvage tug John Fuller as the city's first powered fireboat in 1866.
Prior to the "John Fuller", as early as the late 1700s, the FDNY used hand-pumpers mounted to barges and large rowboats. The first purpose built steam driven boats were introduced by
Boston Fire Department (''William F. Flanders'') and FDNY (''William F. Havenmeyer'') in 1873 and 1875 respectively. The first European fireboat to appear in Bristol was the ''Fire Queen'', built by
Shand Mason & Co., London, in 1884 for service in the city docks. The 53 ft. (16.61 m.) long craft was equipped with a three-
cylinder steam pump
A pump is a device that moves fluids ( liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they ...
supplying two large hose reels; one of these was replaced with a monitor, or
water cannon, in 1900. ''Fire Queen'' served until 1922.
List of famous fireboats
*
Abram S. Hewitt –
FDNY
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 ...
(
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
) (1903–1958) (retired and abandon at Witte Marine Scrapyard in
Rossville, Staten Island).
*
Deluge – Fireboat/Tug (New Orleans) (retired)
*
Duwamish – (Seattle) 1909 (retired)
*
Edward M. Cotter – Fireboat/
Icebreaker (
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
) (active) The oldest active fireboat.
*
Tacoma Fireboat No. 1 – (
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...
) (retired)
* Fireboat 85 - Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (California). Located in 8th Battalion, Pittsburg Marina.
*
Fire Fighter – (NYC) 1938
*
Fire Fighter II –
FDNY
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 ...
(
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
) (2010) the United States' largest fireboat (Active)
*
Governor Irwin – Fireboat/Tug (
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
) (1878–1909) Fireboat participated in
1906 San Francisco earthquake
At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity s ...
and fire. (retired and scrapped)
*
Governor Markham
Henry Harrison Markham (November 16, 1840October 9, 1923) was an American lawyer and Republican politician. He was the 18th governor of California (1891–1895), and represented California's 6th congressional district during the 49th Un ...
– Fireboat/Tug (
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
) Fireboat participated in
1906 San Francisco earthquake
At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity s ...
and fire. (retired and scrapped)
* – US Navy – Fireboat/Tug (
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...
attack) and City of
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
1940–1996 (retired and under museum ship restoration)
*
John Fuller – steam salvage tug (NYC) – 1866 boat had 2000GPM pump and hose. Considered first modern fireboat.
*
John Kendall – (Detroit) – Steam fireboat on Detroit River 1930–1976. (retired, scrapped)
*
John J. Harvey – (New York City) (1931–1959) (Temporary reinstatement
9/11/2001) (retired)(Museum ship)
*
Massey Shaw – (London, England) Serving in
London Fire Brigade
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865, under the leadership of superintendent Eyre Massey Shaw. It has 5,992staff, i ...
. Dunkirk
Little Ship rescuing troops during
Operation Dynamo (retired)
*
Phoenix – (San Francisco) (active)
*
Pyronaut
''Pyronaut'' (originally ''Bristol Phoenix II'') is a specialised form of fireboat known as a fire-float. It was built in 1934 by Charles Hill & Sons Ltd., Albion Dock Bristol, Yard No. 208. Registered number 333833. She is owned by Bristol M ...
– moored at
Bristol Harbour Railway and Industrial Museum (
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...
, England) (retired)
*
Ralph J. Scott – (Los Angeles) (retired)
*
Sir Alexander Grantham
Sir Alexander William George Herder Grantham, GCMG (; 15 March 1899 – 4 October 1978) was a British colonial administrator who governed Hong Kong and Fiji.
Early life, colonial administration career
Grantham was born on 15 March 1899 a ...
– (Hong Kong) (retired)
*
St. Mungo (fireboat) – Glasgow/Strathclyde (retired)
*
Three Forty Three –
FDNY
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 ...
(
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
) (2009) Country's largest fireboat, twin to
Fire Fighter II. (Active)
*
Thomas D'Alesandro (fireboat) – Baltimore (1956-2016) (retired)
*
Warner Lawrence – Los Angeles (active)
*
William F. Flanders
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...
– (Boston) 1873
*
William F. Havenmeyer
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...
– (NYC) 1875–1901 (retired)
*
William Lyon Mackenzie
William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) was a Scottish Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify elite members of Upper Canada. He represented Yo ...
– (
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada) (active)
*
William O. Bird II
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...
– Sandusky Fire Department (
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Erie County, Ohio, United States. Situated along the shores of Lake Erie in the northern part of the state, Sandusky is located roughly midway between Toledo ( west) and Cleveland ( east). Accord ...
) (active)
*
USS ''Active'' / USS ''Lively'' – US Navy – Fireboat/Tug (1888–1945) Fireboat participated in
1906 San Francisco earthquake
At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity s ...
and fire. (retired and scrapped)
* – US Army / US Navy – Fireboat/Tug (1865–1922) Fireboat participated in
1906 San Francisco earthquake
At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity s ...
and fire. (retired and scrapped)
* – US Army / US Navy – Fireboat/Tug (1861) Fireboat participated in
1906 San Francisco earthquake
At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity s ...
and fire. (retired and scrapped)
Departments with fireboats
Government and military with fireboats
*
Japan Coast Guard
The is the coast guard of Japan.
The Japan Coast Guard consists of about 13,700 personnel and is responsible for the protection of the coastline of Japan under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Th ...
– 9; 230 patrol boats with water cannons or firefighting support systems
*
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
*
Fire class fireboat
The Fire-class fireboats/yard tractor tugs were two fireboats operated by the Royal Canadian Navy. The two vessels are and .
Design and construction
''Firebird'' was based at CFB Halifax, and ''Firebrand'' at CFB Esquimalt. According to the ...
of the
Royal Canadian Navy's auxiliary fleet (2):
**
CFAV ''Firebird'' (YTR 561)
**
CFAV ''Firebrand'' (YTR 562)
See also
*
Fireboat Station, Tacoma, Washington
*
Lambeth Fire Station, London, England, with a river fireboat station
*
Firefighter
*
Firefighting apparatus
*
Police watercraft
*
Rigid-hulled inflatable boat
A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are i ...
References
External links
"Smoke Eaters On Water", May 1931, Popular Sciencedetailed article about New York city fireboats of that era
"Diesel Fire Boat Shoots Seventeen Streams"''Popular Mechanics'', August 1937—i.e. article on Chicago Fire Department fire boat
Fred A. Busse (fireboat)
Fred A. Busse (March 3, 1866 – July 9, 1914) was the mayor of Chicago, in the U.S. state of Illinois, from 1907 to 1911.
Biography
Busse became a local Republican Party (United States), Republican leader, first elected to the Illinois House ...
Painting of the fireboat “The New Yorker,” 1893, in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database* Book:
Fire - floats and fireboats - David C Pike
type=Manufacturer “New type of fireboats”
{{Authority control
Boat types
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats.
Small boats are typically found on i ...
Port infrastructure
Ship types