David A. Boody (fireboat)

History
CommissionedDecember 15, 1892 (1892-12-15)

The David A. Boody was a fireboat operated on the North River, the lower portion of the Hudson River, within New York state.[1] She was built and commissioned in 1892[2] for the Brooklyn Fire Department and was operated by the BFD until Brooklyn's fleet was merged with that of nearby New York City.

She was a wooden-hulled steam powered vessel, 106 feet (32 m) long, 23 feet (7.0 m) wide, and 7 feet (2.1 m) deep.[1] Her pumps could project 6,500 gallons per minute.

The boat was first called to action on December 17, 1892 (1892-12-17), in response to a large fire at a cotton warehouse in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood. Upon arrival, she assisted the Seth Low in extinguishing the blaze.[3]

On October 22, 1905, the David Boody helped fight a fire that broke out aboard the lighter Joseph Codringham's cargo of barrels of oil. While other fireboats fought the fire on the lighter itself, the David Boody fought the burning oil that had spilled onto the river.[4]

On July 25, 1909, David A. Boody and Abram S. Hewitt fought a cargo fire aboard the Ward Line steamship Vigilancia. Seth Low relieved Abram S. Hewitt before the fire was extinguished.[5][6]

She was retired in 1914 as a cost-saving measure.[7]

  1. ^ a b Clarence E. Meek (July 1954). "Fireboats Through The Years". Retrieved 2015-06-28. The second fireboat of the Brooklyn Department was the DAVID A. BOODY, built in 1892. She was a wooden boat with crews' quarters aboard and was 106 ft, in length with a 23 ft. beam and 7 ft. draught.
  2. ^ "Stopped: Work on the New Fire Department Building". The Standard Union. November 30, 1892.
  3. ^ "In the River - Fifteen Firemen Seek Safety From Falling Walls". The Standard Union. December 17, 1892.
  4. ^ "River Afire". The New York Times. 1905-10-22. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  5. ^ "Vigilancia burns and sinks at pier". The New York Times. 26 July 1909. p. 1. Retrieved 26 March 2024 – via Times Machine.
  6. ^ "Fire sinks Ward liner". New-York Tribune. 26 July 1909. p. 1. Retrieved 26 March 2024 – via Library of Congress.
  7. ^ "Adamson Redues Expenses by $700,000". The New York Times. 1914-06-29. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-13.