05 August 2002

Fireboat owners float a bit of history up Hudson

by Scott Cornell

The John J. Harvey -- something of a floating museum -- will visit a number of Hudson River communities the next several days. The ship, a retired fireboat used by the New York City Fire Department, will make stops in Yonkers, Poughkeepsie, Kingston, Hudson, Albany and Troy.

It's the second year for the old boat to journey up the Hudson.

According to David Beatty, organizer of last year's fireboat expedition, the trip helps "promote historic vessels and access to the waterfront and its history."

"Every town on the Hudson owes its existence and commerce to the river, and it is kind of embarrassing that not many places have access to the water," Huntley Gill, one of the 14 owners of the John J. Harvey, said. "Our theme for the trip is if a town has waterfront access, it's missing out if it doesn't build a dock."

The boat is owned by a nonprofit corporation of 14 people who work together to save old watercraft.

The John J. Harvey was built as America's first modern fireboat in 1931. It is 130 feet long and weighs 268 net tons.

The boat was retired in 1994. It was sold at auction to the current owners in 1999.

Sept. 11 prompts use

It was put back to work after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"The boat went down to the Battery to ferry people away from the incident site," said Thorner Harris, a volunteer on the boat and coordinator of this year's excursion. "When the FDNY saw the boat was on site, it asked if the boat could again come into service to provide water."

For three days, the John J. Harvey and its crew of owners and volunteers provided water from the Hudson directly to firefighters. With a rate of 18,000 gallons of water per minute, the boat has a pumping capacity equivalent to 20 fire trucks.

"It was sad that something like this had to happen for the city to realize that the boat was needed," Gill said. "At the same time, it was satisfying to know that the boat could be used for what it's really good at -- pumping water."

Gill's long-term plan is to make the John J. Harvey and other old vessels into floating maritime museums. More vessels will be sent to visiting towns along the Hudson and trips will become more frequent.

"We just want to take everyone out and drill a little history into all of them," Gill said.

AT A GLANCE
FIRE BOAT VOYAGE

The fireboat John J. Harvey will travel up the Hudson River this week. It will depart from New York City Tuesday. It will be in Poughkeepsie midday Wednesday at Waryas Park. It will leave for Kingston at 3 p.m. For more information on the John J. Harvey and its schedule, visit www.fireboat.org.

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