Still on duty with the Buffalo Fire Department here in Buffalo, New York, the fireboat Edward M. Cotter rides at her berth in front of you. Originally launched as William S. Grattan, she was built in 1900 by the Crescent Shipyard of Elizabeth Port, New Jersey. Time and service reshaped her: she was rebuilt in 1953, returned to duty as Firefighter, and the following year took the name Edward M. Cotter in honor of Edward Cotter, a Buffalo firefighter and leader of the local firefighters union who had recently died.
She is considered to be the oldest active fireboat in the world and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996. Alongside her firefighting role, in winter she becomes an icebreaker on Buffalo’s rivers. Look up at her deck and you’ll picture the five fire monitors she mounts, capable of pumping 15,000 US gallons per minute (0.95 m3/s; 12,000 imp gal/min).
From this berth she often sails southwest to Lake Erie and returns north through the breakwall, sometimes firing those monitors for practice or duty. Picture her heading southwest toward Lake Erie, then returning north through the breakwall, her monitors ready for duty.