John H. Glenn, Jr. (fireboat)
The Fireboat John H. Glenn Jr. is a fireboat stationed on the Potomac and Anacostia rivers in Washington DC.[1] Her bow was re-inforced in 1984, and allows her to also serve as an icebreaker during the winter.
The vessel served the FDNY for her first fifteen years, being sold to the Washington DC Fire Department in 1977.[2] When she was built, she was both faster than her older fleet-mates, and had a shallower draft, making her well-suited to be stationed in a region of the Hudson River with areas of shallow water.[3]
On 2012, Washington DC's Inspector General published a report that the John Glenn's maintenance had been dangerously neglected.[4] The report noted that, in addition to not implementing a program of general inspection, the city had neglected to plan or budget for a replacement for the fifty-year-old vessel. The report listed hundreds of other municipalities who had been able to replace or upgrade their fireboats through FEMA Port Security Grants, but that Washington DC had not applied for a grant. The report estimated that it would cost $7 million to replace the John Glenn with an equivalent, modern vessel. In October 2014 the Washington City Paper noted that, rather than respond to the report city government had merely left the vessel at her moorings.[5] Similarly, budget problems had forced the fire department to take half its fleet of firetrucks out of service, because it could not afford to keep them in running order.
In 1982 the John Glenn, and the city's other vessels tried to rescue people when an Air Florida airliner allided with the 14th Street Bridge.[5] Ice impeded their efforts. Seventy people died in the incident. Subsequently the John Glenn was retro-fitted with an icebreaking bow. The Washington D.C. Fire Department's fleet includes two smaller fireboats, which are not equipped to break ice.[1]
The excursion vessel Spirit of Washington smashed into the dock shared by the fire department and police department's boats, damaging the John H. Glenn Jr.[6]
| displacement | 84 tons[1] | ||||||
| length | 71 ft (21.64 m)[1] | ||||||
| beam | 21 ft (6.4 m)[2] | ||||||
| draft | 5 ft (1.52 m)[2] | ||||||
| power | 3 x 450 horsepower[1][6] | ||||||
| speed | 20 knots[7] | ||||||
| pumping capacity |
| ||||||
| ship's complement | 4[6] | ||||||
| built | 1962[1] |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Michael E. Ruane. D.C. fireboat does battle with Potomac River ice, Washington Post, 2010-01-10.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Clarence E. Meeks. Fireboats Through The Years, Marine 1 F.D.N.Y..
- ↑ City Commissions Fireboat Glenn, New York Times, 1962-09-14, p. 30. Retrieved on 2017-03-24. “The newest and smallest of the city's ten fireboats was commissioned yesterday afternoon and put into service last night. Its berth will be at 154th Place and the East River in Whitestone, Queens.”
- ↑ Charles J. Willoughby. Enclosed please find a copy of a Management Alert Report..., Government of Washington DC, 2012-04-05. Retrieved on 2017-03-20.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Will Sommer. Land Ho: The District's Best Fireboat Is on Ice, Washington City Paper, 2014-10-15. Retrieved on 2017-03-20.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Aaron C. Davis. Cruise Craft Strikes Docked City Fireboat: Crash Occurred During Routine Work Done by Spirit of Washington's Crew, Washington Post, 2009-01-31.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Brian J. Cudahy (1997-01-01). Around Manhattan Island and other maritime tales of New York. Fordham University Press. ISBN 9780823217618. Retrieved on 2010-01-01.