Greenport is still weeks away from the arrival of an eclectic assortment of yachts, fishing boats and touring vessels tying up to the docks at Mitchell Marina, but a familiar profile has returned to its berth on the waterfront. “Fire Fighter,” a retired New York City fireboat, is once again giving tours and telling the stories of courageous feats from its 72-year career fighting fires on the sea.
Welcoming visitors in Greenport
Fire Fighter spent the years 2013 to 2020 moored at the railroad dock at the other end of the Greenport waterfront. During those summers, a young boy from Shelter Island named Will Halloran would visit the fireboat as often as he could get a grownup to bring him over on the ferry, clambering down ladders to her engine room and up to the bridge.
The fireboat’s stay in Greenport was ended by the COVID pandemic, and Fire Fighter found a berth at Mystic Seaport Museum for the next few years, before returning to Greenport last summer.
By then 13, Will showed up to volunteer on the fireboat during his summer vacation, then traveled to Mystic a few times to help out while she was docked there over the winter. The interest in maritime pursuits sparked by visiting the fireboat in Greenport grew over the years, and this fall he will begin high school at the Harbor School on Governors Island off the tip of Manhattan.
Today, Will volunteers every weekend while the boat is here, assisting Charles Ritchie, who oversees the operation, with tours and maintenance, along with other volunteers.
“We’ll be here past Memorial Day,” said Mr. Ritchie, and back in September for the Maritime Festival from Sept. 26 to 27. From time to time, the boat will motor out into the harbor for a dramatic demonstration of the powerful sprays that have been deployed to fight fires as well as take part in celebratory events.
The rest of the summer plan has yet to be confirmed, he said, with plans for taking part in OpSail in Boston for the country’s 250th anniversary, now jeopardized by the steep rise in fuel costs. In the meantime, Will and other volunteers are keeping the historic vessel shipshape, giving tours and telling her story.
Giving a tour of the engine room to a visitor the other day, Will startled her by having a loud gong sound next to her. “That’s how the pilot in the bridge signals to the engineer to operate the telegraph, like ‘full speed ahead,’” he laughed, explaining that Mr. Ritchie was returning a signal he’d just sent.
Launched in 1938, it was designed by noted naval architect William Francis Gibbs and may be the last of his vessels afloat, capable of pumping 20,000 gallons of water per minute to nine topside fire monitors and powered by one of the first diesel-electric powerplants ever fitted to a vessel of her size.
Source: The Suffolk Times
