Proud History

BERTHS   (  1908 - 1962 - 1976 - 1990 - 1992  ) Marine Co. 1 Pier A, Battery Park, North River. Marine Co. 2 Pier 53, Bloomfield St., North River. Marine Co. 3 Pier 80, West 40st St., North River. Marine Co. 4 Fort Totten, Bayside, Queens. Marine Co. 5 East 90th St., East River. Marine Co. 6 Grand St., Corlears Hook, East River. Marine Co. 7 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, East River. Marine Co. 8 52nd St., Brooklyn, Upper Bay. Marine Co. 9 Pier 6, Tompkinsville, Staten Island, Upper Bay.

Fireboat Locations
(1962-1966)

By the 1950s older fireboats were withdrawn from service with no immediate replacements ready to join the fleet. As a result the number of boats was reduced to eight. The berths of Engine 87 on the Harlem River, and Engine 232 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn were vacated never to see a fireboat there again.

In 1959 FDNY changed fireboat designations from Engine Companies, which they had traditionally been since our first boat in 1875, and now called them Marine Companies. Though there were only eight Marine Companies, their numbers ranged from 1 to 9. All numbers were used except Marine Co. 4 which was reserved for future use.



Fireboat John H. Glenn, Jr.
Photo Courtesy Al Trojanowicz
In late 1962 a new 70 foot fireboat. was delivered. This boat, John H. Glenn, Jr. was smaller than the earlier boats and had a lesser pumping capacity. Glenn, however, was of shallower draft and faster. She was an ideal boat to protect the outlying areas where commercial facilities were less concentrated , but recreational and small boat users more common. Glenn was used to organize new Marine Co. 4 to be stationed at Fort Totten in Bayside, Queens where the East River joins Long Island Sound. This territory would include northern Queens and the southern and eastern shores of the Bronx, plus many associated islands. There had never before been a fireboat stationed in this area of the Port.

Minor variations occur, locations shown are typical.