Fireboat No. 1, Tacoma

Fireboat No. 1 was built in 1929 for the Port of Tacoma by the Coastline Shipbuilding Company of Tacoma, for US$ 148,000. It is 96 feet 6 inches (29.4 m) long with a 21 foot (6.4 m), six-inch (152 mm) beam and a six-foot (1.8 m) draft. Its seven water cannons have a capacity of 10,000 US gallons per minute (630 L/s). The vessel is the only fireboat in U.S. history to protect a major port by itself for more than half a century.

After 54 years of service in waterfront fire protection, harbor security patrols, search and rescue missions, and water pollution control, Fireboat No. 1 was put up on on a permanent dry berth at a public beach near Tacoma’s Old Town neighborhood. It is one of only five fireboats designated as a National Historic Landmark. Visitors are able to walk around the exterior, but the interior is closed to the public.