FIREBOAT

vessel used in fire fighting in port cities. Basically a large tugboat, the fireboat is equipped with powerful pumps capable of producing streams of up to 12,000 gallons (45,000 litres) per minute. The first fireboats, built in the 19th century, were steam propelled and used steam power to operate their pumps. Modern craft are powered by internal-combustion (usually diesel) engines that also drive the pumps. A typical fireboat is of about 125-foot length by 26-foot beam and 7-foot draft (38 by 8 by 2 metres) and travels at about 14 knots (nautical miles per hour). A high-speed, shallow-draft fireboat introduced in Chicago in 1961 is propelled and steered by underwater hydraulic jets.