A Baltimore City fire boat used in the 1960s is now sitting on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, offshore of Lewes and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware—and unlike many shipwrecks, it was put there on purpose.
The fire boat Mayor J. Harold Grady is the newest addition to Delaware’s artificial reef system. On Monday, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Division of Fish and Wildlife added the fire boat and a World War II-era tugboat onto the well-known reef site that also includes more than 700 old New York City subway cars.
The ex-fire boat went down around 10:20 a.m. Monday at longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates of 38.40.457/74.42.961 in 75 feet of water. The so-called Redbird Reef, seen in this DNREC map off the coast, gets its name for the Redbird subway cars found there, along with several other vessels from the Chesapeake Bay that were past their serviceable lives:
The artificial reef system is meant to provide habitat for marine life in areas where natural habitat has declined. “Our giving these boats a continued existence as reef deployments cultivating marine life while providing recreational fishing and diving opportunities also pays tribute to what they once were, when they served our country’s maritime and public safety needs,” says DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin.
The reef’s newest addition, Baltimore’s longtime fire boat, was named for Baltimore’s mayor J. Harold Grady, who was serving at the time the vessel was commissioned in 1960. Built by Jakobson Shipyard in Oyster Bay, Long Island, the Grady was among the most modern and well-equipped of its time. It was 86 feet long, could pump 6,000 gallons of water per minute, and had a top speed of 15 miles per hour.
The vessel was known for its role fighting a nine-alarm fire at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor in 1968, when flames at a lumberyard at Pier 5 spread to other businesses and even threatened the 1797 U.S.S Constellation. The city fire department was able to hold back the fire from reaching the Constellation and there were no serious injuries.
The Grady stayed in service until 2007. DNREC bought it using federal Sport Fish Restoration funds. It was hauled out to the reef site and sunk by Norfolk, Va.-based marine contractor Coleen Marine.
All vessels sunk at the artificial reef are certified for environmental cleanliness with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Coast Guard.
The fire boat is in good company: Across 1.3 square miles of ocean floor, the Redbird Reef includes a floating former casino, 86 retired U.S. Army tanks and armored vehicles, a 215-foot long cruise ship from the Chesapeake Bay and other vessels.
You can learn more about the artificial reefs in the 2024 Delaware Reef Guide.
