USS CONSTELLATION Fire at Bklyn Navy Yard 1960

Photofpd · Dec 2, 2011

Looking for photos of USS constellation fire in Brooklyn Navy Yard late 1960.
Hopefully one will show the Fireboat FIrefighter in action if she was there.
Also looking for dispatch log to show what fireboats were dispatched on the box.
Any help would be greatly appreciated

raybrag · Dec 2, 2011

I've only found 2 images that show dockside at the Constellation fire; one from the NY Times:

Recalling a Brooklyn Disaster Otherwise Forgotten (Published 2010)

It is a curiosity how some catastrophes linger in memory, like a midair collision over New York City, while others go unmarked, in the case of a fatal fire on an aircraft carrier three days later.

www.nytimes.com

The picture there does show a fireboat, but it's definitely NOT Firefigher (looks more like the Harvey to this unexperienced eye, you tell me):

The other is a video from (Ta Da) THIS site, posted by G-Man 3 years ago:

Nycfire.net

Nycfire.net Forums

nycfire.net

A fireboat appears dockside at 2:59 of this video, and again, it looks like the Harvey. I imagine there was more than 1 marine unit assigned to this job, but I can't find any other pictures of one.

The link on this site also gives some info on alarm assignments (again, from GMan). Maybe he can help with marine units.

johnd248 · Dec 3, 2011

The fireboat in the picture and the video is of the class that included the Sylvia Wilks, Robert Wagner, and Alfred Smith. It is definitely not the John J. Harvey.

guitarman314 · Dec 3, 2011

I have the WNYF (1st Issue of 1961) with a load of stats like how many hoselines (65), air cylinders (640), etc. but only mentions that 4 fireboats responded. An educated guess is that the Firefighter responded as Marine 5 @90th St. Other boats that were closer were: Marine 7 (Wagner) @ Fulton St; Marine 6 (Archer) @ Grand St.; and Marine 1 (McKean) Battery. The fireboat at the far lower left corner is one of the Hudson River boats either the Harvey (Mar. 2) from Bloomfield St. or Mitchell (Mar. 3) from W. 35th St. The other boat in the center of the picture is either the Wagner (Mar. 7) or Archer (Mar. 6). Silvia H.G. Wilks was Mar.9 on Staten Island and Alfred E. Smith boat did not enter service until mid-1961

Photofpd · Dec 3, 2011

Great info, thanks guys!!!
I did see that pic in the NYT before and try to inlarge it but it comes out too grainy to see.

Next is a little more recent, Navy Yard fire Aug 2,1995
Fireboats ran hoselines to engine companys.

Im trying to connect the Fighter to the navy yard as a responding unit.
It is connected in one way, the engines on the fighter were used to build
sub chasers that were built there in 1942.

raybrag · Dec 3, 2011

Photo:

You might try contacting the Times to see if they still have the original, or a digital copy of it. You'd be amazed what you can find in a newspaper's (especially one like the Times) morgue.