Builder – R.T.C. Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, NJ.

Commissioned – by the Fire Department as Engine 49 – September 14, 1956

Cost - $550,000

Official Number – 272398

Construction - all steel

Length overall - 103 feet 8 inches

Beam - 21 feet 8½ inches

Depth of hull - 11 feet 11½ inches

Full load draft - 8 feet

Tonnage - 101 Net, ..149 Gross

Fuel capacity - two tanks with total capacity of 3,800 gallons

Maximum speed - 17 m.p.h.

Propulsion - Twin screw, two (2) Fairbanks-Morse, 8-cylinder opposed piston diesels, rated 660 H.P. each at 1,200 rpm.,
------------------each driving a 4 blade, bronze Ferguson propeller through a Snow-Nabstedt reverse-reduction gear with
------------------a ratio of 3.79 to 1.

Fire pumps - two (2) Fairbanks-Morse, single stage centrifugals, rated 6,250 gpm. each at 150 psi., each driven by
------------------its own Firebanks-Morse, 8-cylinder opposed piston diesel, rated 660 H.P. each at 1,200 rpm.
------------------for an assured total capacity of 12,000 gpm.

Discharge outlets - twenty (20) 2½”, 16 on manifold aft of stack on main deck, and 4 on forward side of pilot house

Monitor pipes - four (4), McIntire Brass Works, of Cambridge, MA. - one on forward deck, one on pilot house,
----------------------one on deck house tower ( 35 feet above the water line ) and one on aft deck.

Foam - 1,000 gallons of 3% cold protein foam, ( carried in two 500 gallon wing tanks )

Hose - 2,000 feet of 2½”, 200 feet of 1½”, ( later incresed to 600 feet 1½” )

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..On September 23-24, 1955, bids were solicited for the construction of a new, all steel, diesel powered fireboat for the City of Baltimore.
..On October 19, 1955, with a bid of $517,746.00, the R.T.C. Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, NJ. was awarded the contract to build the new fireboat from plans prepared by Mr. Thomas D. Bowes, Naval Architect of Philadelphia, PA. The only other bid submitted was by The Maryland Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Baltimore, MD for $650,848.00.
..During the design, and early construction phase, the new fireboat was referred to as “Cascade II”, as the “Cascade” was the old fireboat she was scheduled to replace. On May 17, 1956, the Board of Fire Commissioners announced that the new fireboat would be named in honor of the Mayor of Baltimore, Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr.

..On the afternoon of June 22, 1956, Mayor D’Alesandro’s wife broke a bottle of champagne over the prow of the new fireboat as it slid down the ways into the Delaware River. A few minutes later, the trim craft was tied up at an outfitting dock where the rest of her machinery and equipment would be installed.

..On September 16, 1956, the Fireboat “Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr.” was placed in service with Engine Company 49 at the foot of Benhill Avenue, Curtis Bay.
..Although Engine 49 received the new Fireboat, all four of the old boats were subject to close examination by a competent Marine Surveyor in order that there be no mistake in which vessel should be replaced. The results of this survey disclosed the Torrent to be the least desirable to retain from a standpoint of its immediate extensive repair needs and the present high operating cost per annum. It was estimated that the savings in repairs, fuel, and the reduction of engine room personnel would pay for the new boat in seven years.
..Engine Co. 49's former Fireboat, "Cascade", was re-assigned to Engine Co. 48 and moved across the harbor to Lower Canton. Engine Co. 48's former Fireboat, "Torrent" was disposed of.

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..Heart of the vessel’s firefighting system is a pair of 10-inch Fairbanks-Morse centrifugal pumps, each rated at 6,250 gpm. at a discharge pressure of 150 psi. Each pump is driven by its 660 hp. Fairbanks-Morse diesel at 1,200 rpm. Together the two pumps provide an assured volume of 12,000 gpm. The fire pumps may be put in series, and then provide 6,000 gpm. at 300 psi.
..A foam firefighting system for combating flammable liquid fires is supplied by two 500 gallon wing tanks, located aft of the equipment room, for a total of 1,000 gallons of 3% cold protein foam concentrate on board. This system can project 320,000 gallons of finished foam a distance of 120 feet in 20 minutes. Foam handling is fully automatic, being accomplished with a special Fairbanks-Morse rotary pump which proportions the foam liquid.

..With all the power and firefighting equipment, there are ample quarters on the new boat for an on duty crew of nine men.
..Located below the pilot house and forward deck are the berthing accommodations. This area includes eight bunks and personal lockers for the crew. A ninth bunk is located in the pilot house for the officer. Forward of that, in the forecastle, is the head, equipped with two toilets, two sinks, and a shower.
..A large combination lounge, and galley is provided for in the deck house, equipped with an electric stove, refrigerator, sink, drinking fountain, and other facilities for the crew.
..Located below deck, aft of the engine room, is the equipment storage room. In addition to the vessel’s firefighting equipment, racks are provided for the crew’s turnout gear.
..This is the first Fireboat to be placed in service with Baltimore that has complete living accommodations for the crew onboard, thus eliminating the need for a shore side station.

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..As early as 1952, plans to relocate Engine Co. 49 were being considered, as the B & O Railroad Wharf their station was located on was deteriorating badly, and the Railroad had future plans for its demolition for a new coal pier complex.
..On August 22, 1958, the members of Engine Co. 49 moved aboard their Fireboat, Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr., and relocated to the bulkhead at the City owned Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant, 3501 Asiatic Ave., Wagners Point, at the entrance to Curtis Bay.
..Living accommodations aboard the Fireboat for the nine men on duty proved to be less than desirable, and on August 3, 1959, a one story 25 foot by 75 foot metal clad station house was erected on the bulkhead adjacent to the Fireboat’s berth, and living aboard the Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr. was discontinued.
..The boat continued to serve with Engine Co.49 at Wagners Point until the Company was disbanded on December 1, 1971.

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..On December 1, 1971, a reduction in the marine firefighting force of Baltimore was begun. Engine Co.49 was disbanded and the Wagners Point Fireboat Station closed. The Fireboat "Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr." was reassigned to Engine Co.39 at Fort McHenry, and Engine 39’s Fireboat, “Mayor J. Harold Grady”, became Reserve Boat 39, and was relocated to Marine Division Headquarters, at Engine House 16, Pier 7, foot of President St.
..After approximately 3 months with Engine Co. 39, it was decided to relocate the “Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr.” to Engine Co. 48 at the Dundalk Marine Terminal. On March 18, 1972, the move was made, with the “Mayor J. Harold Grady” going back to Engine Co. 39 at Fort McHenry. Engine Co. 48’s former Fireboat, “August Emrich”, became Reserve Boat 48, and remained at the Dundalk Marine Terminal Fireboat Station.
..The City of Baltimore failed to obtain funding from the State to assist with marine fire protection in the Port of Baltimore, and on June 30, 1972, a second Fireboat Company, Engine Co. 48 at the Dundalk Marine Terminal, was disbanded, and the station closed.
..On the same day, the practice of designating the Fireboats as Engine Companies was discontinued. The “Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr.” was reassigned to Fireboat #1 at Pier 7, foot of President Street (formerly Engine Co.16)

..On July 1, 1972, the “Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr.” was placed in service with Fireboat No.1 at their quarters, Pier 7, foot of President Street. The Fireboat “P. W. Wilkinson” was placed in reserve.
..On December 15, 1975, the “Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr.”, moved with Fireboat No. 1, back to the former quarters of Engine Co. 48 at the Dundalk Marine Terminal, 2700 Broening Hwy. The President Street Station became the Reserve Boat House, with the “Wilkinson” and “Emrich” being maintained there by a skeleton crew.

..The Marine Division was caught up in another round of company closures in 1991, and on December 14, 1991, Fireboat No. 1 was disbanded, and the Dundalk Marine Terminal Station at Colgate Creek was closed.
..The “Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr.” was reassigned to Fireboat No. 2 at Fort McHenry, and No. 2’s boat, the “Mayor J. Harold Grady” became Reserve Fireboat No. 2, and remained at Fort McHenry. The Fireboats “P.W. Wilkinson”, and “August Emrich” were decommissioned, and stored at the Fire Department Repair Shop, pending auction.

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