Fireboats Through The Years

SOON after taking over the man­agement of the Fire Department in 1865, and establishing the paid force, the Metropolitan Board of Fire Commissioners discussed the need for a "floating engine to fight fires on and along the river fronts." Their discus­sions resulted in the signing of a con­tract, in 1866, with John C. Baxter & Son, owners of the steam salvage tug JOHN FULLER, for the services of the boat on a "call basis" at a yearly rental. The JOHN FULLER was equipped with fire pumps and hose, in addition to a variety of salvage gear, and was well suited for its role as the first fireboat of the Fire Depart­ment of the City of New York. The boat was advertised by its owners as a "wrecking and fire steamer," and a notice appearing in a journal of the period stated, "The pumps are of extra power and were made to order ex­pressly for the FULLER by the Amos­keag Manufacturing Company. As a fire engine she throws thirteen streams of water."

The FULLER was to serve as a regu­lar unit of the Department for more than nine years, until the first city-owned fireboat was put in service in 1875, and for a number of years there­after was rented from time to time to take the place of the Fireboats HAVEMEYER and MILLS, when they were out of service for inspection and repairs. At first, when the FULLER was needed at a fire, a messenger was sent from Fire Headquarters in Mercer Street to her West Street dock, with orders to respond. The first fire at which the "floating engine" operat­ed as a unit of the Department was on October 16, 1866, at 307 West Street, close to her berth. In his report to the Commissioners for the year 1866, Chief Elisha Kingsland wrote that the contract for the use of the FULLER had proven most satisfac­tory.

When, at the suggestion of Chief of Department Joseph L. Perley, pre­liminary signals were adopted in 1870, 15 strokes and 4-6 strokes made up the preliminary for the Fire Steamer. The order gave these instructions:

Whenever the services of the Steamer JOHN FULLER are required by the officer in command at a fire, he will apply for the same by sending the special call 15 strokes and 4-6 strokes, followed by one round of the box. It is the duty of the Commanding Officer of the Company lying nearest to the wharf of the FULLER to send a messenger to said Steamer with a notice of the call.

In August of 1874, the Commission­ers contracted with Wood Dialogue & Company, Philadelphia, for the con­struction of a fireboat at contract price of $23,800. When placed in service on May 12, 1875, the boat, which had been named the WILLIAM F. HAVE­MEYER, was berthed at the foot of Pike Street. East River, and Engine Company 43 was organized to man her, with two officers, two engineers, pilot and five firemen. The HAVE­MEYER was a wood hull vessel and, like several of the early fireboats, had quarters aboard for the crew. In fact, these boats were moved from one lo­cation to another without any more preparation than running the fire alarm telegraph wires to provide a ship-to-shore connection. Until the time that John Kenlon became Chief of Department, the company number remained with a fireboat regardless of its location.

A second fireboat, the ZOPHAR MILLS, was built in 1882 and when placed in service on April 14, 1883, was designated as Engine 51. Her first berth was at Pier 42, North River. The ZOPHAR MILLS was the first iron hull fireboat and was 120 ft. in length, with a 25 ft. beam and 12 ft. draught. She was designed by Charles H. Haswell who was also the designer of THE NEW YORKER—the most famous of our fireboats. The two Clapp & Jones fire pumps had a total capacity of 6,000 gpm. The ZO­PHAR MILLS served the Department for 52 years and was disposed of Sep­tember 4, 1934. Some of her wheel house equipment has been preserved in the Fire College Museum.

The City of Brooklyn had called on the New York Fire Department sev­eral times for the help of fireboats be­fore contracting for the building of the SETH Low, in 1885. She was a wooden vessel throughout, with copper bottom to the water line. The Low had two screws and was 99 ft. in length, with a 24 ft. beam and 9 ft. draught, with two Clapp & Jones fire pumps with a total capacity of 3,500 gpm. Crews' quarters were aboard. She was commissioned January 1, 1886. as Engine Co. 23 of the Brooklyn Fire Department. She was first sta­tioned at Harbeck's Stores, near the locations before finding a permanent berth at the foot of Main Street.

The second fireboat of the Brooklyn Department was the DAVID A. BOODY, built in 1892. She was a wooden boat with crews' quarters aboard and was 106 ft, in length with a 23 ft. beam and 7 ft. draught. She had a single screw with a compounding condensing engine. The two fire pumps had a capacity of 6,500 gpm. The BOODY was commissioned October 28, 1893, as Engine Company 32 of the B. F. D. In the Brooklyn Fire Department the fireboats had civilian Captains, Pilots, Engineers and Stokers, the firefighting crews consisting of officers and fire­men of the Uniformed Force. The New York Department also had civil­ian Pilots, Engineers and Stokers. Pilots were inducted into the Uni­formed Force in 1907, by legislative act and Engineers of Steamer from the Uniformed Force gradually replaced the Engineers of the civilian force.

Before consolidation with the City of New York in 1898, Long Island City had a contract with Newtown Creek Towing Company for use of their tug PROTECTOR as a fireboat on a call basis. The PROTECTOR was equipped with pumps and hose, as well as salvage and wrecking gear. The Tow­ing Company also had five other tugs, each equipped with a fire pump, which were available on call.

THE NEW YORKER was constructed by Julius Jonson, New York, from plans by Charles H. Haswell. With a pumping capacity of 13,000 gpm, she was for many years the most powerful of fireboats. She was the first New York fireboat with a shore station and its house at the Battery became a land­mark as famous as the boat itself. When THE NEW YORKER was ready, Engine Co. 57 was organized and the boat placed in service on February 1, 1891. News articles of the day gave much space to descriptions of the boat and its architecturally distinctive sta­tion near Castle Garden. She had a steel hull and a profile which was changed some years later by the instal­lation of a larger stack and the re­moval of some of the superstructure. She was a single screw vessel with a triple expansion engine. On January 24, 1892, the ZOPHAR MILLS collided with THE NEW YORKER, hitting her head-on near the water line on the port side during a heavy fog. The crew were able to keep her pumped out until she could be berthed at a ship­yard.

In those memorable winters of the 1890's, ice in the rivers around New York was a menace to the fireboats. On February 13, 1899, the DAVID A. BOODY sank in the East River at the foot of Corlears Street, while return­ing from a fire. The Captain sent out a call for help and the crew strove desperately to pump her out, hut to avail. The same day, the VAN WYCK damaged her steering gear and was towed to her berth by THE NEW YORKER.

Engine Company 66 was placed in service on June 1, 1898, at the foot of Grand Street. with the new boat ROBERT A. VAN WYCK. later renamed the WILLIAM L. STRONG. The VAN WYCK had been christened the WIL­LIAM L. STRONG when launched but the name was changed to VAN WYCK before she went in service, and then changed hack when Mayor Van Wyck ended his term. The WILLIAM L. STRONG was built at the yards where the first fireboat—the HAVEMEYER­had been constructed. She was de­signed by H. deB. Parsons, and her principal dimensions were 110 ft. in length. With a 24 ft. beam and 12 ft. 6 in. draught with a gross tonnage of 203 tons and 350 horsepower, she had a rated capacity of 6,000 gpm. The fireboat HAVEMEYER was dis­posed of on October 2, 1901, and En­gine 43 was discontinued as a marine unit. The next fireboat to be added to the fleet was the ABRAM S. HEWITT, designed by H. deB. Parsons, and built by the New York Shipbuilding Company at Camden, N. J. Engine Co. 77 was organized October 25, 1903. and the HEWITT put in service at the foot of West 13th Street. This boat is now changed somewhat from her original appearance. The two stacks have given way to one funnel and the deck house has been altered. The HEWITT is practically a sister ship of the GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN, with a rated capacity of 7,000 gpm., a length of 117 ft., a beam of ft. and a 10 ft. 6 in. draught.

It may be appropriate, at this point, to mention two of the most disastrous fires in New York waters, from the standpoint of loss of life, in which our fireboats were engaged. The catastro­phe which has been recorded in most histories of great fires as the North German Lloyd disaster gave Chief of Department Croker and the men of the fireboat fleet one of their toughest jobs and most harrowing experiences. Sta­tion 251, West and Morton Street, was received at 4:09 P.M., June 30, 1900, and the responding companies included Engines 51 and 57, the two fireboats then stationed in the North River. Chief Croker rolled on the box, as was his practice, in the case of alarms from hazardous locations. There was no fire at Station 251, but "hell was pop­ping" across the river at the Hobo­ken piers. Explosions were heard and two large vessels, the KAISER WILHELM and BREMEN were seen to he burning and moving out into the stream. The BREMEN was adrift and floating toward the New York shore. Two other large ships—the SAALE and the MAIN—and numerous docks, barges and smaller ships were afire. The SAALE and the MAIN were being pushed or towed out into the river. Chief Croker special called Engine 66, the VAN WYCK, and gave orders for the fireboats to operate in the river. He hoarded THE NEW YORKER, which was commanded by Captain W. C. Braisted, and headed for the scene. The number of persons who died in the burning ships is stated in Chief Kenlon's book—"Fires and Firefight­ers"—to have been more than 400. Only 16 of the 150 on the MAIN were rescued and 74 died on the BREMEN. The men of the fireboat fleet did a heroic job that day. THE NEW YORKER took 28 off the BREMEN through red-hot port holes and landed them at Pier 18. In many cases men of the fireboats saw persons fall back into the flames as desperate rescue at­tempts were being made. The very modest report of Captain Braisted of THE NEW YORKER IS quoted in the 1900 Annual Report and Chief Kenlon gave a more complete account of the North German Lloyd fire in his book. At the time of the fire Chief Kenlon was Captain of Engine Co. 72.

The other waterfront disaster which should be recorded in any story of the Marine Division was the burning of the excursion steamer GENERAL SLO­CUM, on June 15, 1904, with a loss of more than 1,000 lives, a large propor­tion of whom were children on a Sunday School outing. The first report of the GENERAL SLOCUM fire was a telephone message from a citi­zen at 10:11 A.M. This was followed immediately by a message from the Police Department that Officer Cowan, of the 35th Precinct, reported a steam­ship on fire at Hell Gate. The dis­patcher ordered Engine 51 to roll at 10:12. A half minute later Box 2339 was received and transmitted. As phone messages to the Fire Alarm Of­fice in 67th Street brought word of what was happening, Chief Croker ordered the fireboat HEWITT to re­spond from her Brooklyn berth and to stop at the foot of East 67th Street to take him aboard. The SLOCUM fire was fast and furious. When first dis­covered, the steamer was entering Hell Gate opposite Hallets Point. The ves­sel sank near North Brothers Island. Of the more than 1,400 persons aboard, only about 400 were rescued. The death toll reached 1,021. The men of our Department made many rescues but their principal job that day was the recovery of bodies.

Up until 1905, the fireboats were at­tached to the Battalions in whose dis­tricts they lay. Special Order No. 6, of June 16, 1905, established the 19th Battalion. It read:

By direction of the Fire Commis­sioner, the 19th Battalion, to be com­posed of Engine Companies Nos. 51, 57, 66, 77, 78, 123 and 132, is hereby organized, to take effect from and af­ter 8 A.M., on the 17th inst., and Chief of Battalion John Kenlon as­signed to the command thereof. He will perform duty while at fires on the fireboats.

- By order of EDWARD F. CROKER, Chief of Dept.

The 19th Battalion was then as­signed to the First Division. Four years later it was decided to organize the fireboats as a separate Division and an examination for promotion to the rank of Deputy Chief of the Marine Division was ordered. A re­quirement was that applicants must hold Pilot's and Master's licenses. Chief Kenlon was the only Chief of Battalion who could qualify and, after passing the examination, he was pro­moted to this specific title by Special Order No. 45, of April 12, 1909, being the only officer ever promoted to be Deputy Chief of the Marine Division. Two years later the junior among the Deputy Chiefs, he was first on the list for Chief of Department and became head of the uniformed force on August 1, 1911. The 19th Battalion was discontinued as a marine unit on October 20, 1925. In 1937, on Novem­ber 1st, a Marine Battalion was again established with the organization of the 25th.

The GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN was built in 1903 by the New York Ship­building Company at Camden, N. J. When the MCCLELLAN was ready for service. Engine Company 78 was or­ganized, on December 1, 1904, and took over the berth of Engine 77 at Gansevoort Street. Engine 77 moved to Main Street. Brooklyn.

The JAMES DUANE, THOMAS WIL­LETT and CORNELIUS W. LAWRENCE were added to the fleet in 1908, having been built by Alex Miller & Bros., of Jersey City, for a total cost of $335,000. These boats went into serv­ice as Engine Companies 85, 86 and 87, on December 7, 1908. The DUANE and WILLETT were the first New York fireboats equipped with turbine driven centrifugal pumps. Their rated capaci­ty, at 150 psi is 9,000 gpm. The LAW­RENCE is equipped with two reciprocat­ing crank and fly-wheel type pumps with a capacity of 7,000 gpm. The THOMAS WILLETT was converted from coal to oil burning in 1926, and in 1927a similar conversion was completed on the JAMES DUANE. When Engine Companies 85 and 86 were organized, Engine 78 was relocated at the berth of Engine 51, in the upper East River. Engine 51 went to a new berth at Staten Island and for the first time, a fireboat was stationed in the Harlem River, with the organization of Engine 87 at 135th Street.

The SETH LOW went out of service January 1, 1916 and was replaced by the WILLIAM J. GAYNOR, built at a cost of $125,000. The GAYNOR, which has a capacity of 7000 gpm from her turbine driven centrifugal pumps, was converted to oil burning in 1937. The SETH Low was sold on August 20, 1917, after having sunk at the dock where she was tied up and nearly drowning the fireman who was de­tailed as watchman.

Engine Company 51 was out of service from January 1, 1917 until December 1, 1922. On that date, the new JOHN PURROY MITCHEL replaced THE NEW YORKER at Engine 57; the latter vessel went to Engine 77 to replace the ZOPHAR MILLS, which was sent to Staten Island to reactivate En­gine 51. The MITCHEL had been launched at the yards of Standard Shipbuilding Co., Shooters Island, N. Y., where she was built at a cost of $235,000. An oil burner, equipped with centrifugal pumps having a rated capacity of 9000 gpm., the MITCHEL is 132 ft. in length with a 27 ft. width and 10 ft. draught.

The gasoline powered JOHN J. HARVEY was built in 1931, at a cost of $594,500. and placed in commission on December 17, 1931, as Engine 57, THE NEW YORKER being "retired." The HARVEY has five main gasoline engines driving gener­ators which furnish current to the motors connected to the four fire pumps and two propellers. Her rated capacity is 16,003 gpm.

When the ZOPHAR MILLS was sold on September 4, 1934, the fleet was reduced to nine boats, and Engine Co. 51 was again temporarily dis­banded, being out of service until No­vember 16, 1938, when the FIRE FIGHTER was commissioned. She was the first diesel powered boat in the fleet and cost $924,000. She has two 16-cylinder Winton diesel engines, each connected to two main genera­tors in tandem. Motors drive the four centrifugal fire pumps and two pro­pellers. The FIRE FIGHTER is 134 ft. in length with a 32 ft. beam and a 10 foot draught, with a rated pumping capacity of 20,000 gpm. She was commissioned as Engine 57 at which time the HARVEY went from 57 to 86; the WILLETT from 86 to 78; the MCCLELLAN from 78 to 66 and Engine 51 was reactivated by the transfer of the STRONG from 66. The WILLIAM L. STRONG was re­moved from service in May, 1948 and Engine 51 was again left without a boat until the GEORGE B. MCCLEL­LAN was relocated at 51's berth on Sept. 19, 1949. The LAWRENCE was berthed in the East River at the foot of Grand St. (quarters of Eng. 66) on Oct. 31, 1952, as the quarters and berth of Eng. 87 were unusable be­cause of highway construction along the Harlem River. The accident on the MCCLELLAN, while operating as En­gine 51, in the harbor on Septem­ber 17, 1953, the explosion which re­sulted in the death of Marine Engi­neer John D. McKean, has caused this boat to be laid up and the LAWRENCE to be assigned to Engine 51 at Staten Island, temporarily vacating the berth at Grand Street.

Nine men of the fireboat fleet have died in line of duty : Engineer John Bulgar, Engine 43; Firemen Thomas J. Cooney and Cornelius Healy, En­gine 223; Firemen Brerton F. John­son, Edward J. Fox and John M. Grane, of Engine 77; Pilot John J. Harvey, Engine 86; Fireman Peter Engel of Engine 232 and Engineer John D. McKean, Engine 85.

Three commanders of the Marine Division have become Chiefs of De­partment: John Kenlon, John J. Mc­Elligott and Harold J. Burke. Another Chief of Department, Charles D. Purroy, was at one time Captain of the ZOPHAR MILLS. Truly, the his­tory of the fireboat fleet has been in keeping with the great traditions of the F.D.N.Y. and worthy of emu­lation by all branches of the service.

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.

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.

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.

FIRE FIGHTER (1938- ) 134'x32'x9'. 20,000 gpm.

SMOKE (1938-1955) 53'x7'x3.5'.

JOHN D. MC KEAN (1954- ) 129'x30'x9'. 19,000 gpm.

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- ) 52'x14'x4'. 2000 gpm.

SENATOR ROBERT F. WAGNER (1959-1993) 105'6"x27'x9'. 8000 gpm.

GOVERNOR ALFRED E. SMITH (1961- ) 105'6"x27'x9'. 8000 gpm.

JOHN H. GLENN, JR. (1962-1977) 70'x21'x5'. 5000 gpm.

JOHN P. DEVANEY (1992-1994) 70'x19'x5'4" 7075 gpm.

ALFRED E. RONALDSON (1992-1994) 70'x19'x5'4" 7075 gpm.

KEVIN C. KANE (1992- ) 52'x16'x4'6". 6500 gpm.