Three Forty Three

This article is about the fireboat. For other uses, see 343 (disambiguation).
Three Forty Three
History
New York City Fire Department
NameThree Forty Three
OperatorNew York City Fire Department
AwardedDecember 28, 2007
BuilderEastern Shipbuilding Group
Yard number968
Laid downMay 2008
LaunchedSeptember 11, 2009
Sponsored byUnited States Department of Homeland Security
ChristenedSeptember 11, 2009
CompletedApril, 2010
AcquiredJune 23, 2010
CommissionedMay 26, 2010
In serviceSeptember 12, 2010
HomeportPier 53, Hudson River
Identification
StatusIn service
NotesPredecessor: John D. McKean
General characteristics
Class and typeRanger 4200-class fireboat
Tonnage500 GT
Length140 ft (43 m)[1]
Beam36 ft (11 m)
Draft9 ft (2.7 m)
Installed power4 × MTU 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) engines
PropulsionHundested 4 × variable pitch propellers
Speed18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Capacity20,000 gpm/50,000 gpm max
Crew7

Three Forty Three is a Ranger 4200-class fireboat that serves the New York City Fire Department as marine company 1.[2] Designed by Robert Allan Ltd. and built to replace the 1954 John D. McKean. It was commissioned at 0900 hours on September 11, 2010, exactly nine years after the 2001 terrorist attacks. It is one of the four New York fireboats currently active in service.

Namesake

The boat's name comes from the number of FDNY members killed in the line of duty on September 11, 2001. For days following the terrorist attack the only water available to the area was provided by the FDNY's Marine Units.

Manufacturing

The Three Forty Three was built by Eastern Shipbuilding of Panama City, Florida, and is the largest single purpose fireboat built to date with the highest pumping capacity of any fireboat ever built. A sister vessel named Fire Fighter II was delivered and placed in service with Marine 9 in November 2010 to replace the 70-year-old Fire Fighter, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and represented the city's first major investment in new fireboats in 50 years.[3]

The fireboat performing a water cannon display in 2023

Features

The 140-foot (43 m), 500-ton, $27 million fast response boat is the country's largest fireboat, with a maximum speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). The Three Forty Three incorporates the latest technology available for marine vessels, including the capability of pumping 50,000 US gallons (190,000 L; 42,000 imp gal) of water per minute, nearly 30,000 US gal (110,000 L; 25,000 imp gal) more than its predecessor. It has an operating crew of seven.

References

  1. ^ "New York City Fire Department - Characteristics". Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  2. ^ "Marine 1 F.d.n.y".
  3. ^ FDNY Annual Report 2012, p. 7


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