The Duwamish

Today is the 102nd birthday of the The Duwamish, Seattle's greatest fire boat.  Constructed and launched from a shipyard near Richmond Beach, the Duwamish was the most powerful fire boat in the nation, if not the world.  A distinction it held until 2003, when a Los Angeles fire boat wrestled the title away.  She originally had a ramming bow, to sink burning ships if necessary.  That was replaced, as were her original steam engines.  The boat served the city until 1986, since then she has been moored in Lake Union and has become a National Historic Landmark.  

The Duwamish is remembered most for two fires, the first was the Grand Trunk Pacific Dock fire of 1914, which started when a cigar was tossed into a pile of sawdust. Five people died and the dock was completely destroyed.  The Duwamish helped save Coleman Dock from being consumed by the fire.  The second fire occurred in 2003, when a fire at the foot of Corliss Ave on Lake Union destroyed 3 dozen pleasure boats.  The Duwamish anchored across the lake could have been to the fire in a matter of minutes to engage the flames with its power water cannons.  Instead the City of Seattle had earlier decided that the Duwamish should stay retired.  The current owners of the boat suggested to the city that she could be used to help fight fires on Lake Union.  The city saw no reason to do that, after all they had a fire boat in Elliot Bay.  That boat was summoned to fight the Lake Union blaze, but took over a hour to go from Elliot Bay, through the locks to the fire.

Tonight a photo of the Duwamish in action, noted this photo is from 2001, so this was the world's most powerful water cannons at work.