''William M. Feehan'' is a

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 ...

built for and operated by 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, ...

(FDNY). Her namesake,

William M. Feehan William Michael Feehan (September 29, 1929 – September 11, 2001) was a member of the New York City Fire Department, Fire Department of New York who died during Collapse of the World Trade Center, the collapse of the World Trade Center (1973–2 ...

, was the oldest and most senior FDNY firefighter to perish in the line of duty on

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

. Her nameplate is carved from a steel plate salvaged from the collapse of the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

. The vessel's $4.7 million cost was largely covered by a FEMA Port Security Grant Program. The boat is designed to operate in shallow waters, including bay areas close to

Laguardia LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...

and

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

airports. She also has systems to protect those onboard from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazards using a pressurized and filtered cabin. She was built in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

, at MetalCraft Marine. Wellwishers gathered to welcome her as she transited the

Oswego Canal The Oswego Canal is a canal in the New York State Canal System located in New York, United States. Opened in 1828, it is 23.7 miles (38.1 km) in length, and connects the Erie Canal at Three Rivers (near Liverpool) to Lake Ontario at Oswe ...

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

, and

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 N ...

. The fireboat entered service on November 20, 2015.

Specifications

Constructed by MetalCraft Marine at

, ''William M. Feehan'' cost $4.7 million to build. The fireboat is long and powered by three engines. The vessel has a maximum speed of . ''William M. Feehan'' is equipped with five water cannons, projecting 8,000 gallons per minute.

References

{{New York City Fire Department Fireboats of New York City 2015 ships Ships built in Kingston, Ontario