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Firefighter (fireboat)
Encyclopedia
Fire Fighter, also known as Firefighter, is a fireboat serving the New York City Fire Department
New York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department or the Fire Department of the City of New York has the responsibility for protecting the citizens and property of New York City's five boroughs from fires and fire hazards, providing emergency medical services, technical rescue as well as providing first response...
. She was an active fireboat serving as Marine Company 9 until being retired in 2010. She was the most powerful diesel-electric fireboat
Fireboat
A fireboat is a specialized watercraft and 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....
when built in 1938. She has fought more than 50 fires, including upon the SS Normandie
SS Normandie
SS Normandie was an ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat; she is still the most powerful steam turbo-electric-propelled passenger ship ever built.Her novel...
in 1942.
Other well known fires she participated in include the SS El Estero
SS El Estero
The SS El Estero was an antiquated freighter of Panamanian registry that was kept in service carrying war supplies from the United States to Europe during World War II, including participation in Convoy PQ 13 in March 1942. On April 24, 1943, she had completed taking on 1,365 tons of ammunition and...
in 1943, and the fire following the collision of Esso Brussels
Esso Brussels
Esso Brussels was a commercial oil tanker built for the Esso Oil company in 1959. She was involved in a collision in 1973 in which thirteen of her crew perished. She was rebuilt and sailed under various other names until being scrapped in 1985....
and SS Sea Witch
Sea Witch (container ship)
Sea Witch was a container ship which was involved in a serious collision in New York in 1973 with the oil tanker Esso Brussels."Flames from the burning oil radiated 200 feet out from both ships." Thirteen crew members of the Esso Brussels and the master and two crew members of the Sea Witch...
in 1973. On September 11, 2001, Fire Fighter, along with the rest of the FDNY Marine units and the John J. Harvey
John J. Harvey (fireboat)
-External links:*...
, a retired fireboat being restored by volunteers, were in active service pumping water from the Hudson River into Ground Zero
Ground zero
The term ground zero describes the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation...
when the water mains failed.
The boat, as Firefighter, was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1989.
Fire Fighter was retired in 2010, and replaced by the fireboat Fire Fighter II.