Courtesy: Firefighter Danny
Elizarraras
Hull Number 47
Fire Boat 2 on the Ways
L.A. Shipyard (later Todd Shipyard)
October 9, 1925
|
Fire Boat No. 2
Los Angeles
City No. 2, a state of the art fireboat with many innovations, was
built in 1925 at the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp.
(Todd Shipyard), San Pedro. Launched October 20, 1925, the $214,000 fire boat, later
renamed Fireboat 2, the Ralph J. Scott, originally was
gasoline-powered and rated at 10,200 gpm.
|
Fire
Aboard the S. S. Warwick
By Stanley E. Halfhill, June 30, 1940
Guardian of Marine Safety
By Captain William Cody,
November 1940
Los
Angeles Fire Boat No. 2
By Stanley E. Halfhill, November 1940
The
Battleship Arizona
By Stanley E.
Halfhill, July 1, 1941
The
End of Diving Operations
By Stanley
E. Halfhill, April 15, 1941
Just
Soldiering
By Stanley E. Halfhill,
December 15, 1941
Fire
Boat No. 2 the "White Elephant"
By K. K. Pollard, January 1945
Boat
Specifications
By Captain M. P. Allen, Fire Boat No. 2-A, March 1945
Fire Boat Operations
By K. K. Pollard,
April, 1945
|
|
On May 6, 1924 voters approved a $400,000. bond issue for construction of a
fireboat, a station to house it and auxiliary apparatus.
Following completion of L. E. Caverly's designs dated January 31, 1925, a
$214,000 contract was awarded to the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock
Corp. (Todd Shipyard) in San Pedro. The contract called for an
October 1, 1925, delivery date. At 10:25 a.m., October 25, 1925,
Mrs. Ralph J. Scott christened Los Angeles City No. 2 by breaking a bottle
of fire-extinguishing foamite across the bow.
Commissioned December 2, 1925 the Los Angeles City No. 2 went into service 25 days later with a crew of
14, including a captain, a pilot, a mate, two engineers and nine firemen.
The triple screw, white-painted fireboat was riveted steel construction.
Her length is 99.3", beam 19-feet, depth of hold 9-feet, 152 gross
tons and fuel capacity 2156 gal.
Originally the Los Angeles City No. 2 was powered by seven 350-horsepower, 6-cylinder in-line Winton
gasoline engines. Three of these Wintons drove the center, port and
starboard propellers for a top rated speed of 17 knots (the fastest
fireboat afloat). The four other Wintons operated the forward-mounted
pumps. Increased pumping capacity resulted from the dual capability
of the two wing propulsion engines when they were switched from propulsion
to pumping mode. There are six Byron Jackson
four-stage centrifugal pumps mounted in pairs forward of the propulsion
system. Each is rated at 1700 G.P.M. at 200 psi., for a total output
of 10,200 G.P.M.
In 1945 the seven Winton propulsion engines were replaced by Hall Scott
engines. Two 625 H.P. V-12 Hall Scott
Defenders drive the outboard screws. A 275 H.P. 6-cylinder
in-line Hall Scott
Invader drives the center screw.
The six Byron Jackson
four-stage centrifugal pumps, mounted in pairs forward of the propulsion
system are driven as follows:
Pumps No.
1, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 are driven by one of the 275 H.P. 6-cylinder in-line Hall Scott Invaders.
Pumps No. 5 and No. 6 are driven by one of
the 625 H.P. V-12 Hall Scott
Defenders.
Beginning
in 1975 the gasoline engines were replaced with diesels and by
1978 two 700 H.P. V-12 Cummins, three 380 H.P. 6 cylinder in-line Cummins
and two 525 H.P. V-12 - 2 cycle
Detroits power the fireboat.
Fire Boat No. 2 carries breathing apparatus, forcible entry tools, heavy
stream appliances, a bank of eighteen 50 lb. CO-2 cylinders (now
removed), flood
light, smoke ejector equipment, syphon ejectors, drag and
grappling hooks, two 3 1/2" Mystery nozzles, and tips up
to 6" for the largest deck turret. Four reels carry 4000
feet of various sizes of hose. The boat is equipped with 24 hose
outlets (12 port and 12 starboard) and 5 large deck guns. Big
Bertha, mounted on the wheelhouse could deliver 10,200-gallons-per-minute
via a six-inch nozzle.. The tower turret, believed to be the first,
or at least one of the first, fireboat towers in the nation, raises to a
height of 42' above the water.
Fire Boat 2 was commissioned December 2, 1925 and went into service with
14 officers and crewmen.
|
Circa 1940
Mounting 5 monitor guns, including a tower gun which could be extended 44
feet above water level, Los Angeles City No. 2 was one of the first large
fire boats powered by gasoline. Carrying 2156 gallons of fuel, the
fireboat featured a safety system which completely changed the air in the
engine room every five minutes as a precaution against leaking gasoline
vapors. A further safeguard against below deck fires was a bank of
18 carbon dioxide extinguishing agent cylinders forward of the water
tower.
FIREBOATS by Paul Ditzel
|
SEAGOING
SMOKEATERS
By CLIFF
DEKTAR, December 1954
New
Eyes for the Seagoing Fireman
By Lee Zitko, May
1956
Three
Fire Boats are Christened
May 1965
MODERNIZED
FIREBOAT
By Captain Warner L. Lawrence, Fireboat 2, February 1970
2
To Blazes
By Paul Ditzel, WESTWAYS, August 1976
New
Power for the "Scott"
By Bill Dahlquist,
Pilot, Fireboat 2 "C", 1978
LISTED ON THE
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
REF. NO. 89001430
DESIGNATED A
National
Historic Landmark
on June 30, 1989
by the National Park Service Maritime Heritage
Ralph J. Scott featured
in "California Gold",
by Huell Howser, PBS TV
http://www.calgold.com
1996
|
Source: LAFD Photo Album Collection
Fire Boat 2 at the dedication for
the
Vincent Thomas Bridge
|
|