The John J Harvey, a retired FDNY airboat that saw action on September 11, 2001, will be visiting the Milton pier on Sunday and offering free public cruises on the Hudson River.

Fireboat John J. Harvey, launched in Brooklyn in 1931, was named for FDNY pilot John J. Harvey. Firefighter Harvey was killed in the line of duty fighting a ship fire. Harvey was a historic first: the first fireboat powered by internal combustion engines and the first that could pump and maneuver simultaneously. She was the largest, fastest fire fighting machine of her time, capable of pumping 18,000 gallons per minute, roughly the equivalent of 20 terrestrial fire trucks. The innovations of her design influenced all subsequent fireboats.

Harvey served and protected New York Harbor for over six decades, assisting during such notable fires as the Cunard Line pier fire in 1932, the burning of Normandie in 1942 and the potentially disastrous fire on ammunition ship El Estero during World War II.

Decommissioned in 1994, Harvey was saved from the scrap yard by a dedicated group of volunteers and restored as an operational museum and education center, offering free public trips in New York Harbor and attending notable maritime festivals in Waterford and Oyster Bay in New York, and Mystic and New London in Connecticut.

On September 11, 2001, John J. Harvey was recalled to service by the FDNY and reactivated as Marine Company 2. Alongside the FDNY fireboats Fire Fighter and John D. McKean, she pumped water for 80 hours until water mains in lower Manhattan were restored to service. Harvey’s action that week was the subject of countless print and video news articles as well as a 2002 Maira Kalman book, “Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey.”

Free public rides are available on Sunday, September 3 at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. from the Milton Landing.

Visit the Milton Landing Facebook page (facebook.com/milton.landing) to reserve a spot.