''Duwamish'' is a retired

fireboat A fireboat or Fire-float Pyronaut, 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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. She is the second oldest vessel designed to fight fires in the US, after '' Edward M. Cotter'', in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

Career

''Duwamish'' was built in 1909 for the

Seattle Fire Department The Seattle Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. The department is responsible for an area of , including of waterfront, with a population of 713,700. There ...

in Richmond Beach, Washington, just north of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. She was powered by "double vertical (compound) marine steam engines" capable of driving her at . She was equipped with three

American LaFrance American LaFrance (ALF) was an American vehicle manufacturer which focused primarily on the production of fire engines, ladder trucks, and emergency apparatus such as ambulance and rescue vehicles. Originally located in Elmira, New York, the fi ...

steam piston pumps rated at a capacity of each. She was originally designed to ram and sink burning wooden vessels, as a last resort, and was equipped with a ram bow for doing so. On July 30, 1914, ''Duwamish'' was involved in fighting the fire on the Grand Trunk Pacific dock. In the 1930s, as a cost-saving measure, the Seattle City Council directed that ''Duwamish'' be used as a tug to push the city's

garbage scow A garbage scow is a large watercraft used to transport refuse and waste/garbage across waterways. It is often in the form of a barge which is towed or otherwise moved by means of tugboats; however, many are also self-propelled. They are most commo ...

. After an upgrade in 1949, the

pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes Slurry, slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic or pneumatic energy. Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of application ...

s delivered a total of . This capacity was only exceeded in 2003 by the

Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides firefighting services and technical rescue services, hazardous materials services, and emergency medical services to the residents of the city of Los Angeles, California, United ...

's ''

Warner Lawrence ''Warner Lawrence'' is a fireboat owned and operated by the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) in Los Angeles. Designed by Robert Allan Ltd. in the early 2000s, ''Warner Lawrence'' was built in Washington and delivered to San Pedro on 21 May 20 ...

'', which delivers . ''Duwamish'' is long with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

and a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

. Her registered gross tonnage is .

Current status

Retired in 1985, ''Duwamish'' was purchased by the Puget Sound Fireboat Foundation. She is permanently moored at the Historic Ships Wharf near the

Museum of History & Industry The Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) is a history museum in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest private heritage organization in Washington state, maintaining a collection of nearly four ...

at South Lake Union Park in Seattle. Visitors may board the vessel when volunteer staff is available. ''Duwamish'' was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1989. and
She is a city landmark.

Career

Current status

See also