The Edward M. Cotter is currently the oldest operating fireboat in the country. It is docked on the Buffalo River at Michigan Avenue.
Buffalo's fireboat was launched in 1900 at Elizabeth, New Jersey and was know as the "William S. Grattan." The vessel had a coal fired steam plant and large, slender stacks.
The fireboat was responsible for pro¬tecting Buffalo' active waterfront during. its heyday in the early 1900s. On July 27, 1929, The Grattan was-fighting a fire aboard the oil barge Cahill on the Buffalo River when the mooring lines burned through. The barge drifted across the channel and hit the tanker McColl.
The tanker exploded into a fireball that engulfed the fireboat. The fireboat's boilers eventually ran dry and exploded and the ship burned through to the hull. She was rebuilt at Buffalo's dry dock with a much lower profile and new pumping equipment.
The Grattan sailed in its new form until 1953 when she was converted to diesel power and renamed the "Edward M. Cotter." Cotter was a longtime fire¬fighter and union president, who served on the fireboat.
On Oct. 7, 1960, the Cotter became the only fireboat to cross an international¬al boundary to fight a fire. She steamed for over an hour that night with a coast guard cutter alongside to the Maple Leaf Mill on Port Colburne, Ontario to help put down a blaze that had been reported as totally out of control.
 During the 1970s and 1980s, she fought many waterfront fires, some un-reachable by any other means. During the early 1990s, the City of Buffalo faced serious financial difficulties, and the Fire¬boat was taken out of service. She was retained for her ice breaking ability.
In the late 1990s, with a strong emphasis on waterfront redevelopment, the Edward M. Cotter was returned to active service.
The deck of the Cotter is fitted with multiple fire monitors and is capable of delivering 15,000 gallons of water per minute. The turret platform on the stern features a hydraulic ram and can be raised and lowered in a matter of seconds.
The Cotter was recently overhauled at Port Weller Dry Docks and is once again fully operational. She can be seen break¬ing ice on the Buffalo River throughout the winter season and is often open for free public tours during special events throughout the summer months.
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