John J. Harvey

Fireboat John J. Harvey
History
New York City Fire Department
Name	John J. Harvey
Namesake	John J. Harvey (KIA) - Pilot of the FDNY steam fireboat Thomas Willett
Port of registry	New York City, USA
Ordered	1928
Builder	Todd Shipbuilding
Cost	$594,000
Laid down	1930
Launched	October 6, 1931
Commissioned	December 17, 1931
In service	December 17, 1931
Out of service	1995
Renamed	Engine 57 (1931) Engine 86 (1938) Marine 2 (1959)(2001)
Reclassified	Museum ship
Refit	1957
Reinstated	Temporary return to service 9/11/2001
Homeport	Pier 63, New York City (As of 2007)
Nickname(s)	The "Harvey"
Honors and awards	National Preservation Award
Status	FDNY retired
General characteristics
Type	Fireboat
Displacement	268 net tons
Length	130 ft (40 m)
Beam	28 ft (8.5 m)
Draught	9 ft (2.7 m)
Installed power	5 Fairbanks - Morse opposed piston Model 38F5¼ which consist of 8 cylinders with 16 pistons.
Propulsion	Twin screws
Speed	18 knots
Capacity	20,000gpm
Armament	Eight deck monitors and 24 large connections for fire hose
JOHN J. HARVEY (fireboat)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Pier 63, North R., New York, New York
Area	less than one acre
Built	1931
Architectural style	Fireboat
NRHP reference No.	00000576
Added to NRHP	June 15, 2000

Not to be confused with SS John Harvey.

The John J. Harvey is a fireboat formerly of the New York City Fire Department in New York City, famed for returning to service following the September 11, 2001 attacks. She is among the most powerful fireboats ever built, capable of pumping up to 18,000 gallons of water a minute.

Launched in 1931, the John J. Harvey had a distinguished career in the FDNY until her retirement in 1994. She was named for marine fireman John J. Harvey, killed when a ship exploded during a fire. Among the marine fires at which she assisted were the Cunard Line pier fire in 1932, the burning of the Normandie in 1942, the ammunition ship SS El Estero in 1943, and the collision of the Alva Cape and Texaco Massachusetts oil tankers in 1966. Her official designation at the end of her career was Marine 2.

Fireboat John J. Harvey

The Harvey was sold, at auction, in 1999, to a private consortium of marine preservationists determined to prevent her from being scrapped. In June 2000 she was added to the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places. Her current owners have thoroughly restored her, and host frequent free trips on the river. She is currently moored at North River Pier 66, located at 12th Avenue and 26th Street on the Hudson River.

September 11, 2001

The John J. Harvey had an unexpected encore. Shortly after the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, the boat's owners asked FDNY officials for permission to assist in evacuations from Ground Zero. Meanwhile, firefighters had determined that the vast scale of destruction had damaged many fire mains, depriving fire crews of water. Officials radioed the Harvey, asking if her pumps still worked. Responding that they did, she was told to drop off her passengers as soon as possible and return to the disaster site, reactivating her official designation Marine 2. Alongside two other FDNY fireboats, John D. McKean and Fire Fighter, she pumped water at the site for 80 hours, until water mains were restored. The National Trust for Historic Preservation gave the Harvey a special National Preservation Award to recognize this incident. The Harvey's story was the subject of a 2002 children's book.

References

Notes

Further reading

• Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey, by Maira Kalman, 2002. ISBN 0-399-23953-7\

External links

• Media related to John J. Harvey (ship, 1931) at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NY-335, "Fireboat JOHN J. HARVEY, Pier 63, North River, New York, New York County, NY", 9 photos, 7 data pages, 2 photo caption pages