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Duwamish (fireboat)

Duwamish is a retired fireboat in the United States.[2] She is the second oldest vessel designed to fight fires in the US, after Edward M. Cotter, in Buffalo, New York.[3]

Career

Duwamish was built in 1909 for the Seattle Fire Department in Richmond Beach, Washington, just north of Seattle.[4] She was powered by "double vertical (compound) marine steam engines" capable of driving her at 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph).[3] She was equipped with three American LaFrance steam piston pumps rated at a capacity of 3,000 US gallons per minute (0.189 m3/s) 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.[5]

After an upgrade in 1949, the pumps delivered a total of 22,800 US gallons per minute (1.438 m3/s).[6][7] This capacity was only exceeded in 2003 by the Los Angeles Fire Department's Warner Lawrence, which delivers 38,000 US gallons per minute (2.397 m3/s).[8]

Duwamish is 120 feet (36.6 m) long with a 28-foot (8.5 m) beam and a 9.6-foot (2.9 m) draft.[4] Her registered gross tonnage is 322 short tons (292 t).

Current status

Retired in 1985, Duwamish was purchased by the Puget Sound Fireboat Foundation.[9][10] She is permanently moored at the Historic Ships Wharf near the Museum of History & Industry at South Lake Union Park in Seattle.[11] Visitors may board the vessel when volunteer staff is available.[10]

Duwamish was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989.[2][12]

She is a city landmark.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c "DUWAMISH (Fireboat)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on September 26, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Delgado, James P. (1988). "Duwamish Fireboat: National Historic Landmark Study". National Park Service. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "National Park Service - Maritime Heritage Program: HISTORIC SHIPS TO VISIT". National Park Service. August 17, 2006. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  5. ^ Newell, Robert G. (1957). Pacific Tugboats. Seattle: Superior Publishing.
  6. ^ "Fireboat Duwamish history". Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  7. ^ "Fireboat Duwamish the boat". Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  8. ^ "Los Angeles Fire Boat No. 2, The Warner L. Lawrence". lafire.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  9. ^ "Puget Sound Fireboat Foundation". Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Hsu, Charlotte (August 18, 2006). "A new life for an old boat?". Seattle Times. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  11. ^ Broom, Jack (December 29, 2012). "History afloat outside MOHAI". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  12. ^ Delgado, James P. (July 9, 1988). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Duwamish / Fireboat Duwamish" (pdf). National Park Service. Retrieved June 22, 2009. and
    "Accompanying 10 photos, exterior and interior, from 1988 and 1929". Retrieved August 29, 2012.