THEN1: The fireboat Duwamish anchors at the downtown waterfront in 1910. It could pump 9,000 gallons of water a minute at 200-pound pressure. Reflecting the era of wooden craft, it was built with a “ram” bow capable of sinking blazing vessels. Ships later were constructed of steel, so when the Duwamish was dieselized in 1949, its bow was refashioned. (F.H. Noell postcard, courtesy Bob Carney)NOW1: As volunteer Bob Carney and mom Devon Lawrence observe, fireboat Duwamish caretaker Steve Walker helps Owen Lawrence, 2, of Seattle, adjust a disabled water cannon aboard the fireboat on a June visit. The fireboat will display a diorama during the Aug. 19-24 Seattle Design Festival. (Clay Eals)
Published in The Seattle Times online on Aug. 3, 2023
and in PacificNW Magazine of the printed Times on Aug. 6, 2023
Water cannons evoke big blazes fought by fireboat Duwamish
By Clay Eals
Wildfires often command today’s attention. But how’s this for a different kind of wild?
THEN2: The fireboat Duwamish, lower right, fights futilely to save the Grand Trunk Pacific Dock, north of Colman Dock, on July 30, 1914. At upper left is the Smith Tower, from which many watched the blaze. The tower had opened earlier that month on Independence Day. Colman Dock, built in 1882 and rebuilt after 1889’s Great Seattle Fire, is above the Duwamish at right. (Courtesy Bob Carney)
Early on May 20, 1910, at the foot of Vine Street along Elliott Bay, a kettle of melted asphalt sprang a leak, mushrooming into a “blazing pile of more than 100 tons of inflammable asphalt” and producing “the thickest smoke that ever rolled up from a city,” reported The Seattle Times.
THEN3: The fireboat Duwamish, shown circa 1920, could pump 9,000 gallons of water a minute at 200-pound pressure. Reflecting the era of wooden craft, it was built with a “ram” bow capable of sinking blazing vessels. Ships later were constructed of steel, so when the Duwamish was dieselized in 1949, its bow was refashioned. (Courtesy Bob Carney)
The fire destroyed Independent Asphalt Co. and damaged Occidental Fish Company nearby but could have been catastrophic for the waterfront if not for gushers from “the highest powered fireboat in existence,” the Duwamish. Thousands of tons of water — shot from the vessel’s cannons for more than an hour, aided by two land-based engines along Railroad Avenue (now Alaskan Way) — doused the flames.
Eyewitnesses said the sight of “streams from the fireboat playing across her bow was the prettiest firefighting spectacle ever witnessed in this city.”
THEN4: In 1949, when the Duwamish (misspelled here) converted to diesel-electric from steam, its pump capacity jumped to 22,800 gallons per minute, making it the world’s most powerful fireboat at the time. (Ellis postcard, courtesy Bob Carney)
The inferno came 10 months after the launch of the steam-driven Duwamish, named for the city’s Native American tribe and only river. The fireboat fought decades of water-proximate fires, many with dramatic smoke plumes from both the conflagrations and the fireboat’s aging steam engine. Dieselized in 1949 and retired in 1984, the Duwamish endures as a city and national landmark at South Lake Union.
Seattle’s first fireboat — and the first one on North America’s west coast — was the Snoqualmie, launched in 1891. Sold in 1932, it became a freighter in Alaska, where it burned in 1974. The city’s third fireboat, the Alki, launched in 1927, lingered for decades at Lake Union and recently was scrapped. Thus, the in-between Duwamish is the sole old-time survivor.
NOW3: Steve Walker (left), Duwamish caretaker for the past 10 years, and volunteer Bob Carney chat aboard the fireboat. (Clay Eals)
West Seattle’s Bob Carney, a retired electrical-parts salesman who first toured the Duwamish at age 8 in 1968, could be its biggest historian and fan. He is rivaled only by Beacon Hill’s Steve Walker, who traces his maritime affection to “The Sand Pebbles” (1966) starring namesake Steve McQueen, “the king of cool,” as a military steamship engineer.
Walker, a state ferry retiree, helms the Duwamish, moored permanently at the Historic Ships Wharf next to the Museum of History & Industry. He and Carney lead Sunday tours, spouting gentle cannons of marine lore for visitors.
NOW2: James Lawrence, 5, of San Francisco, aims a disabled Duwamish water cannon on a June visit. (Clay Eals)
Today’s four operating Seattle fireboats are the Chief Seattle (launched in 1984), the Leschi (2007), Fire One (2006) and Fire Two (2014). During summer festivals, their pumps propel a sizeable spray. But the most inspired show emerges from the deck of the Duwamish where, for a few gripping moments at its disabled water cannons, anyone can imagine being a waterborne hero.
THEN5: In front of the Seattle skyline in 1959, the fireboat Duwamish struts its spray. The newly built, white-colored Washington Building stands at center right, while the Seattle Tower (1929) is at far right. (Courtesy Bob Carney)THEN6: On July 4, 1976, the fireboat Duwamish spouts red, white and blue spray for the nation’s Bicentennial. The Duwamish later was featured in an episode of the TV series “Emergency.” (Courtesy Last Resort Fire Department)An identifying sign adorns the red center stack of the fireboat Duwamish. (Clay Eals)During a June visit, 4-year-old Ryan Tong, maneuvers one of the disabled water cannons on the fireboat Duwamish. The Museum of History & Industry stands to the south. (Clay Eals)During a June visit, 4-year-old Ryan Tong and his dad Xin circle the wheelhouse of the fireboat Duwamish. The Museum of History & Industry stands to the south. (Clay Eals)NOW4: Visitor Tom Smith of Seattle examines an artist’s rendering of the inner workings of the Duwamish. (Clay Eals)NOW5: Taken from the neighboring vessel Tordenskjold, this is a panoramic, west-facing view of the 1909 fireboat Duwamish, moored permanently at Northwest Seaport’s Historic Ships Wharf at the south end of Lake Union. The Duwamish also partners with the Museum of History & Industry, the Duwamish Tribe and the Maritime Washington National Historic Area. More info: FireboatDuwamish.com. (Clay Eals)
WEB EXTRAS
Thanks to Molly Michel, Seattle Design Festival; David Cueropo, Seattle Fire Department; Xin Tong, Kristin Wong, Tom Liu, Devon Lawrence, Tom Smith and especially Bob Carney and Steve Walker for their invaluable help with this installment!
To see Clay Eals‘ 360-degree video of the “Now” prospect and compare it with the “Then” photos, and to hear this column read aloud by Clay, check out our Seattle Now & Then 360 version of the column.
Click the document above to view a pdf of a timeline of history and statistics about the fireboat Duwamish prepared by Bob Carney. (Courtesy Bob Carney)1968, fireboat Duwamish at Todd Shipyard dock fire. (Courtesy Bob Carney)Sept. 17, 1973, fireboat Duwamish demonstrates its water cannons. (Jerry Gay, Seattle Times, courtesy Bob Carney)May 22, 1970, Seattle Fire Chief Gordon Vickery (rear center) with 14 maritime contestants and their sponsors. (Courtesy Bob Carney)May 10, 1969, restrauteur Ivar Haglund and Seattle Fire Chief Gordon Vickery with fireboat Duwamish model, 10 feet long, built on scale of one inch to one foot. Taken at station #5, foot of Madison Street. (Courtesy Bob Carney)1968, fireboat Duwamish at Todd Shipyard dock fire. (Courtesy Bob Carney)Feb. 7, 1956, fireboat Duwamish. (Seattle Municipal Archives, courtesy Bob Carney)Pre-1949, fireboard Duwamish sepia postcard. (Courtesy Bob Carney)Post-1949, fireboat Duwamish wheelhouse. (Courtesy Bob Carney)Post-1949, fireboat Duwamish fights fire near Ballard Bridge. (Courtesy Bob Carney)Post-1949, fireboat Duwamish in Elliott Bay. (Courtesy Bob Carney)Post-1949, fireboat Duwamish, spray color postcard. (Noell & Rognon, courtesy Bob Carney)Post-1949, fireboat Duwamish at Pier 54. (Courtesy Bob Carney)1949, fireboat Duwamish being converted to diesel. (Duwamish collection, courtesy Bob Carney)1949, fireboat Duwamish being converted to diesel. (Duwamish collection, courtesy Bob Carney)1948, fireboat Duwamish at station #5, foot of Madison Street. (Courtesy Bob Carney)1947 or 1948, fireboat Duwamish at station #5 prior to diesel conversion. (Bob Carney collection)Between April 1, 1943, and Sept. 30, 1945, fireboat Duwamish, under Coast Guard command. (Wikipedia Commons, courtesy Bob Carney)1930s, fireboat Duwamish, view of stern. (Courtesy Bob Carney)1930s, fireboat Duwamish at station #40, foot of Charles St. (Bob Carney collection)1920, fireboat Duwamish near Pier 5. (Courtesy Bob Carney)Circa 1920, fireboat Duwamish at station #5, foot of Madison Street. (Courtesy Bob Carney)Circa 1920, fireboat Duwamish in Elliott Bay (Bob Carney collection)Circa 1920, fireboat Duwamish in Elliott Bay downtown. (Bob Carney collection)Circa 1920, fireboat Duwamish at fuel dock. (Bob Carney collection)Circa 1920, fireboat Duwamish at fuel dock. (Bob Carney collection)Pre-1917, fireboat Duwamish. (Bob Carney collection)Post-1917, fireboat Duwamish at station #5. The Reliance is at left (Bob Carney collection)Post-1917, fireboat Duwamish at station #5. (Bob Carney collection)July 30, 1914, fireboat Snoqualmie at Grand Trunk Pacific dock fire (Bob Carney collection)July 30, 1914, fireboat Duwamish at Grand Trunk Pacific dock fire. (Paul Dorpat collection, courtesy Bob Carney)March 17, 1912, fireboat Duwamish at station #5, Madison Street. (Courtesy Bob Carney)Between 1911 and July 30, 1914, fireboat Duwamish, station #5 at Madison Street. (Paul Dorpat collection, courtesy Bob Carney)1910, fireboat Duwamish at the downtown waterfront (Wikipedia Commons, courtesy Bob Carney)1910, fireboats Duwamish and Snoqualmie, station #5, Madison Street, Grand Trunk pier under Construction (University of Washington Special Collections, courtesy Bob Carney)1909, the fireboat Duwamish at Richmond Beach. (Windy City Photos, courtesy Bob Carney)July 3, 1909, the fireboat Duwamish hull is launched at Richmond Beach. (Courtesy Bob Carney)July 3, 1909, the fireboat Duwamish at Richmond Beach. (Courtesy Bob Carney)June 28, 2023, the 2007 Seattle fireboat Leschi displays spray from its water cannons in Elliott Bay with downtown in the background. (Clay Eals)May 18, 1909, Seattle Times, p9.May 20, 1909, Seattle Times, p2.July 2, 1909, Seattle Times, p11.Oct. 27, 1909, Seattle Times, p16.July 31, 1914, Seattle Times, p1.July 31, 1914, Seattle Times, p3.
Excellent article, and the photos are an amazing! A nice slice of history showcasing the Duwamish, and the (working) waterfront.