A $410,000 RESTORATION GRANT

The State of Hew York has awarded John J. Harvey a $410,000 matching grant to fund major restoration work of the boat's hull.  It's now up to our supporters to raise the $410,000 match.  CLICK HERE to make a donation to match the grant.

 

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.

To watch an excellent 16 minute video history of the fireboat by Elinor Kearns CLICK HERE.

 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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