The ''Abram S. Hewitt'' was a coal-powered

fireboat 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 equipme ...

operated by the

Fire Department of New York City 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, ...

from 1903 to 1958. She was the department's last coal-powered vessel and had a pumping capacity of 7,000 gallons per minute. She was launched on July 11, 1903, at the shipyards of the

New York Shipbuilding Corporation The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short) was an American shipbuilding company that operated from 1899 to 1968, ultimately completing more than 500 vessels for the U.S. Navy, the United States Merchant Marine, the United ...

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 20 ...

. She was commissioned in October 1903, and was named after recently deceased former mayor

Abram Hewitt Abram Stevens Hewitt (July 31, 1822January 18, 1903) was an American politician, educator, ironmaking industrialist, and lawyer who was mayor of New York City for two years from 1887–1888. He also twice served as a U.S. Congressman from a ...

Operational history

According to some accounts, she was the first fireboat called to the 1904 burning of the ''General Slocum'', where over a thousand people lost their lives. Other accounts say the '' Zophar Mills'' was the first fireboat to be dispatched. On August 14, 1913, a fire was discovered at a large oil storage yard, on what was then

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

, and the ''Abram S. Hewitt'' was sent to try to put it out. While extinguishing the fire her "bow gun", her frontmost water cannon, burst from her footings, flying into the air, and striking Bertram Johnson, the firefighter assigned to it. He was declared dead, at the scene. On January 28, 1927, the ''Abram S. Hewitt''s captain, John Connoly, was jolted into the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

by a collision. Although he was burdened by heavy fire equipment he was able to swim to a barge, where he clung to a boathook lowered to him by a crew member. It took the ''Abram S. Hewitt'' half an hour to return and rescue him, because it was damaged by the collision. On April 29, 1930, the ''Abram S. Hewitt'' responded when

Cornelius Vanderbilt III Brigadier General Cornelius "Neily" Vanderbilt III (September 5, 1873 – March 1, 1942) was an American military officer, inventor, engineer, and yachtsman. He was a member of the Vanderbilt family. Early life Born in New York City to Corneliu ...

's luxurious yacht, the ''Winchester'', was set ablaze following a boiler explosion. The ''Abram S. Hewitt'' was called to assist other fireboats when a large fire burst out of control a second time. The fire burst out at pier 4. Barrels of flammable liquids had destroyed the pier, and two neighboring piers, but firefighters thought the blaze had been brought under control. However, when it burst out again the ''Abram S. Hewitt'' was better suited to navigate through debris, close to the fire. The ''Abram S. Hewitt'' was eventually taken to the

Staten Island boat graveyard The Staten Island boat graveyard is a marine scrapyard located in the Arthur Kill in Rossville, near the Fresh Kills Landfill, on the West Shore of Staten Island, New York City. It is known by many other names including the Witte Marine Scrap ...

References

{{New York City Fire Department Fireboats of New York City Ships built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation 1903 ships

Operational history

See also

References