Zophar Mills

FDNY fireboat Zophar Mills in 1882.

The Zophar Mills was a fireboat operated by the Fire Department of New York City from 1903 to 1958.[1][2] She was the department's first iron-hulled vessel.

She was commissioned on April 14, 1883, and retired on September 4, 1934.[1][2]

According to some accounts, she was the first fireboat called to the burning of the PS General Slocum, where over a thousand people lost their lives.[3] Other accounts say the Abram S. Hewitt was the first fireboat to be dispatched.[1][2]

specifications[2]
length 120 feet (37 m)
width 25 feet (7.6 m)
draft 12 feet (3.7 m)
pumping capacity 6,000 gallons per minute

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "SHIP GRAVEYARD, ROSSVILLE, Staten Island". Forgotten NY. Retrieved 2015-06-28. One of the rusting hulks, er, retired vessels is the fireboat Abram S. Hewitt, which was in active service from 1903-1958. The fireboat, named for NYC mayor Abram Stevens Hewitt (1822-1903) was built by New York Shipbuilding in Camden, NJ and launched the year the mayor died; she served in the NYC fireboat fleet until 1958. It was the last coal-burning fireboat in operation.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Clarence E. Meek (July 1954). "Fireboats Through The Years". Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  3. "North Brother Island". Forgotten NY. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
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