HISTORY AFLOAT!

Fireboat John J. Harvey, launched in Brooklyn in 1931, was named for FDNY pilot John J. Harvey.  Firefighter Harvey was killed in the line of duty fighting a ship fire. Harvey was a historic first; the first fireboat powered by internal combustion engines and the first that could pump and maneuver simultaneously. She was the largest, fastest fire fighting machine of her time, capable of pumping 18,000 gallons per minute, roughly the equivalent of 20 terrestrial fire trucks. The innovations of her design influenced all subsequent fireboats.

Harvey served and protected NY Harbor for over 6 decades, assisting during such notable fires as the Cunard Line pier fire in 1932, the burning of Normandie in 1942, and the potentially disastrous fire on ammunition ship El Estero during World War II. Decommissioned in 1994, Harvey was saved from the scrap yard by a dedicated group of volunteers and restored as an operational museum and education center, offering free public trips in New York Harbor, and attending notable maritime festivals in Waterford and Oyster Bay in NY, and Mystic and New London in CT.

On September 11 2001, John J. Harvey was recalled to service by the FDNY and reactivated as Marine Company 2. Alongside the FDNY fireboats Fire Fighter and John D. McKean she pumped water for 80 hours until water mains in lower Manhattan were restored to service. Harvey's action that week was the subject of countless print and video news articles as well as a 2002 Maira Kalman book Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey.

INTERESTING & FUN STUFF:
On June 13th, in cooperation with Classic Harbor Line, we participated in a one-hour plus livestream video from the yacht Kingston and on board John J. Harvey.  The livestream, through interviews with Capt. Huntley Gill, Chief Engineer Emeritus Jessica DuLong, and our current Chief Engineer John Browne, covered the history of the boat focusing on the response to 9/11 and conducted a video tour of the wheelhouse and engine room.  The video ends with a water display and a spectacular rainbow.  To watch it CLICK HERE.

Thinking about the Way Back Times before the pandemic, the fireboat was dazzled in 2018.  There is a wonderful video of the project on the Public Art Fund website.  Take a few minutes and CLICK HERE to view it.

And......for a fun view of what it's like on board the boat, TRY THIS!

 

The fireboat is docked at Pier 66 Maritime, at 26th St. and the Hudson River alongside the Frying Pan restaurant and the lightship Frying Pan.

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Support John J. Harvey

 The John J. Harvey depends on private support for its upkeep of engines, pumps and hull.

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Experienced trades people and mariners needed!

The John J. Harvey needs crew with boating or trades experience to fix stuff and staff the deck and engine room.

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