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 ...
that served the
New York City Fire Department
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, ...
as Marine Company 1. She is named after John D. Mckean, who died in a 1953 steam explosion while trying to save a predecessor fireboat, the ''
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...
''.
Operational history
''John D. McKean'' was one of the fire boats, along with ''
Fire Fighter
A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...
'' and the retired ''
John J. Harvey
''John J. Harvey'' is a fireboat formerly of the New York City Fire Department in New York City, famed for returning to service following the September 11, 2001 attacks. She is among the most powerful fireboats ever built, capable of pumping up ...
,'' that responded to Manhattan during the September 11th attacks to supply firefighters with water after water mains broke following the collapses. The boat helped rescue passengers from
US Airways Flight 1549
US Airways Flight 1549 was a regularly scheduled US Airways flight from New York City (LaGuardia Airport), to Charlotte and Seattle, in the United States. On January 15, 2009, the Airbus A320 serving the flight struck a flock of birds short ...
, when she made an emergency landing on the Hudson River in 2009.
Museum vessel
In 2010, ''John D. McKean'' was retired and put in reserve status, after being replaced by a new vessel, the ''Three Forty Three'', named for the FDNY members who lost their lives in the line of duty on September 11, 2001.
On March 2, 2016, FDNY sold the ''John D. McKean'' at auction for $57,400. The vessel was purchased by Edward Taylor and Michael Kaphan, partners in several restaurants. The fireboat was turned over to the Fireboat preservation project which is a non for profit 501(c). The preservation project planned to turn the boat into a floating museum.
In the summer of 2019 the vessel underwent repairs to her hull that required her to be hauled out of the water.
As of 2022 plans were that ''John D. McKean'' would moored at Pier 25 in Manhattan, and it was expected to open in spring 2022.
In 2023 the ship was located at Grassy Point,
Stony Point, New York
Stony Point is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Rockland County, New York, United States. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. The town is located north of the town of Haverstraw, New York, Haverstraw, east and ...
at . As of March 2023, the museum had not yet opened.
Namesake
The vessel was named after a FDNY sailor, an engineer on the fireboat ''George B. McClellan''. He died when he stayed at his post when his vessel was wrecked by an explosion.
See also
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Fireboats of New York City For much of the late 19th and early 20th century, New York City maintained a fleet of ten fireboats. In recent decades technology has improved to where smaller boats can provide the pumping capacity that required a large boat in the past. These smal ...