I have been wanting to do a bigger in depth post on the former FDNY fireboat Fire Fighter for some time now, frankly, I just have not had the time to do so. In the mean time however – Fire Fighter has had some engine trouble. The boat just got out of the shipyard, and is on her way back home to Mystic, CT. Fire Fighter is one of the few museum boats that are still fully operation and get underway from time to time.

Fire Fighter has a pair of Cleveland 16-248 engines, the only two 248 engines to ever be sold commercially and not used by the US Navy. These engines were shipped in June of 1938 under Winton – however by this time period, GM started to use the “General Motors Sales Corp., Diesel Engine Division” moniker on the engines. By the time the boat was finished, Winton was firmly renamed Cleveland Diesel Engine Division, and interestingly enough, Fire Fighter’s engines carry two builders plates each – one for Cleveland, and one for GM Sales.

Lets get to the point of this post – Fire Fighter is looking to raise about $10,000 to cover the repair expenses to get the boat operational again. Parts for 86 year old engines are getting very hard to find, especially when they have not been supported in 50+ years. The parts were located, however this is still a chunk of money to cover the parts, labor as well as an oil change to the starboard engine. Fire Fighters 248’s are likely some of the oldest running General Motors Diesel engines running today.

If you can throw a few bucks their way, please head over to https://americasfireboat.org/ and donate to help keep this really cool old boat going.

You can also keep an eye on their facebook for more updates: https://www.facebook.com/groups/americasfireboat

Down the road, I will do a big post highlighting Fire Fighter. Here are a few quick photos for now.

Fire Fighters Starboard 16-248A. This engine cracked a liner and in the process took out the oil with it when the water drained into the crankcase.

Fire Fighter is Diesel-Electric, and has 3 generators on each shaft.

The boat has been fully restored back to her original Black and White paint scheme. (picture from their website).