The terror attack of Sept. 11, 2001, saw a flotilla of civilian ships assist first responders during the evacuation of Lower Manhattan. Ferries, fishing vessels, and privately owned boats sailed towards the smoky docks to rescue stranded and injured victims. Of the 150-plus watercraft that responded to the attack, one 70-year-old ship stood out.
Launched in Brooklyn in 1931, the John J. Harvey served the Fire Department of the City of New York for 63 years. Named for fallen fireman John J. Harvey, it was state-of-the-art for her time. She was the first fireboat powered by internal combustion engines and the first that could pump water and maneuver at the same time.
John J. Harvey’s powerful pumps could move 18,000 gallons of water per minute, equivalent to roughly 20 fire trucks on land. With this incredible capability, the ship fought notable marine fires, including the 1932 Cunard Line pier fire, the 1942 SS Normandie fire, the fire aboard the ammunition ship SS El Estero in 1943, and the 1966 collision between the oil tankers MV Alva Cape and SS Texaco Massachusetts.
By the end of her service, the ship’s FDNY designation was Marine 2. Following her retirement from the FDNY in 1994, John J. Harvey was purchased by a private group of marine preservationists to save the historical ship from being scrapped. Restored as an operational museum ship, John J. Harvey gave free public trips in New York Harbor and sailed to maritime festivals in New York and Connecticut.
After the planes struck the World Trade Center, the owners of the John J. Harvey contacted the FDNY and requested permission to assist in the boatlift from Manhattan. Water mains in the city were damaged from the attacks, and firefighters struggled to pump enough water to fight fires. Desperate for more firefighting capability, the FDNY asked if the former fireboat’s pumps still worked.
They did.
John J. Harvey evacuated a group of survivors and raced back to Lower Manhattan, reactivated as Marine 2. Alongside the FDNY fireboats John D. McKean and Fire Fighter, the museum ship pumped vital water for 80 hours until water mains on land were repaired. Already added the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places in 2000, John J. Harvey received a National Preservation Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for its work on 9/11.
After her brief and heroic return to service, John J. Harvey went back to operating as a sailing museum ship. In 2018, artist Tauba Auerbach painted the ship with a red and white dazzle pattern similar to the dazzle camouflage used on ships during World War I. Today, John J. Harvey is moored at Hudson River Park’s Pier 66a, also known as the “Frying Pan.”
Though irregular, the hero ship still makes frequent free trips in New York Harbor.
