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19 October 2002
Historic fireboat wins award for its help on Sept. 11
by Margaret Foster
A 1931 fireboat came out of retirement to help on Sept. 11
and provided the only source of water to firefighters at the
World Trade Center site. Yesterday, the National Trust
praised the crew of the John J. Harvey and presented a
National Preservation Honor Award to the 130-foot steel
ship.
"We know we have a great vessel," says Huntley Gill, who
co-owns the boat, along with a dozen others. "We're very,
very proud."
 The John J. Harvey was docked in Chelsea as a museum after
63 years of service with the New York Fire Department. When
the towers collapsed, five volunteers rushed to the boat and
ferried 150 survivors north to safety. Then the crew received
word that no fire hydrants were working downtown, so they
docked in lower Manhattan, turned on Harvey's powerful
pumps-equivalent to 15 fire engines and for days pumped
water to Ground Zero.
"Today, preservationists across the nation thank the brave
people who brought her back into service on that terrible
day," said National Trust president Richard Moe. "It's not
often that a historic site plays such a pivotal role in an
emergency situation."
In 1999, several historians bought and restored Harvey,
which was decommissioned in 1994, and used it to give free
harbor tours. It was placed on the National Register of
Historic Places last year.
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