Historic Greenport Fireboat Seeking Donations to Help Get Vessel to Shipyard

GREENPORT, NY — The fireboat in Greenport needs a little help to weather the next journey in its rich history.

Bobbing bright red in Greenport's harbor, the fireboat Fire Fighter is a symbol of the nation's maritime legacy.

According to its website, the Fireboat Fire Fighter Museum is a 501c3 non-profit organization "dedicated to preserving Fire Fighter as a fully operational vessel, memorial, and teaching museum."

The museum is run entirely by volunteers.

Fire Fighter, the site says, was in frontline service for over seven decades, protecting New York Harbor and "being involved in some of the most storied and harrowing maritime emergencies in United States history."

The most award-decorated fireboat in the world, at the time of her 2010 decommissioning she was the second oldest fireboat in frontline service worldwide and was the longest-serving member of the FDNY Marine Unit Fleet, the site explains.

A National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Fire Fighter is the only fireboat to have received the Gallant Ship Award since its establishment in 1944.

The fireboat was designed by naval architect William Francis Gibbs in 1938 and fought over 50 major fires, including fires aboard the SS Normandie, El Estero, Esso Brussels and Sea Witch, as well as several dozen major pier fires throughout New York Harbor.

The Fire Fighter, on the darkest of days, led the FDNY Marine Unit response to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 by supplying water to emergency crews fighting fires in Ground Zero.

The vessel spent three weeks pumping at maximum capacity while the crew sought out damaged but still-operational pumpers to use as inland pumping stations among the rubble of the Twin Towers, the site explains.

Ownership of the Fireboat Fire Fighter Museum was transferred in October, 2012 and the vessel was relocated to Greenport in February, 2013.

"Fire Fighter has been saved from the scrapyard and has been given a new lease on life in her golden years. She now has a chance to share her decks with the rest of the country as a living tribute to her crews, her architect and the truly astounding amount of American history that has she has witnessed," the site says.

Help is needed

But now, the American icon needs help to get the fireboat to a shipyard for repairs.

Charlie Ritchie, president of the Fireboat Fire Fighter Museum, said although he garnered two grants last year, they are reimbursable, which means the money needs to be paid first before any work can be done.

One grant is from the New York State Office of Historic Preservation, for approximately $414,000, and the other, for $80,000, he said, is from the United States Department of Interior, through its National Heritage Program, he said.

What he needs, Ritchie said, is for a donor, or a series of donors, to step up with the funds so that the boat can be taken out of the water, brought to Caddell Dry Dock in Staten Island, and maintained.

As a not-for-profit, Ritchie said he's also working with local banks to see if a line of credit can be established.

"The boat hasn't been out of the water in 13 years," he said. "We worry every year during hurricane season about the integrity of the hull."

The goal is to be proactive and keep the vessel in good shape, Ritchie said, with routine maintenance every three to four years.

Every year that the boat remains in the water, "it becomes more damaging to the vessel," Richie said. The Fire Fighter has not had routine maintenance like other boats have, every three to four years.

As for the condition of the hull, Ritchie said, "We have no idea, no divers to do testing on the hull. We don't if there is a problem but we are trying to avoid any."

Once the boat has been brought for maintenance, the goal is to take it out on the water, do water displays, and find ways to take passengers out for rides.

"It will make us more functional," Ritchie said. "We've been sort of marooned here at the dock for three years."

To donate, contact Charlie Ritchie at 631-333-2230 or directly on the website by clicking here.