Smoke II Retires from FDNY Marine Fleet

 

Smoke II (left) is towed from the Brooklyn Navy Yard as Marine Unit 6, the Kevin Kane, provides a farewell water display.

A 50-year-old member of the FDNY retired on July 15, to start a new career ... as an artificial reef off the coast of New Jersey.

The Smoke II, an FDNY Marine Unit fireboat, was towed from the Brooklyn Navy Yard to great fanfare as members of the unit remembered the boat’s rich history.

“This was a great boat and served the division well,” said Chief of Marine Operations James Dalton. “Now it will serve the public well in its new resting ground.”

The Smoke II was built in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1958. It was 52 feet in length, pumped 2,000 gallons per minute and was equipped with two monitors (water nozzles).

The fireboat was commissioned to be used as the chief’s tender for all marine operations and served as a command post. Later it was used as a backup for Marine Unit 6, the Kevin Kane.

After September 11, 2001, the Smoke II pumped water to the World Trade Center site following the attacks. The boat also transported Fire Capt. Al Fuentes from the site to a trauma center in New Jersey after he was rescued from the rubble.

The Smoke II now will be cleaned according to the guidelines of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission - including having its engines, floatable materials and electronics removed - before it is sunk in the Sea Girt Reef, 3.8 nautical miles northeast of the Manasquan Inlet.

She will be sunk in 80 feet of water, and will be used as a dive site and to help with native marine life.