As an important river port, there has been six fireboats operated by the Detroit Fire Department.
| Image | Name | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1892 | 1902 | Built by Craig Shipbuilding and decommissioned after dry rotting became an operational issue. | |||
| 1900 | 1941 | Built by Detroit Ship Building Company, later sold as tug to Sincennes-McNaughton Line (1941-1959) and McAllister Towing and Salvage Incorporated in Montreal for used as fireboat in Montreal from 1959 to 1992 Detroit Ship Building Co. Retired and scrapped with cabin/funnel surviving in Port Colborne Dry Dock | |||
| James R. Elliott | 1902 | 1930 | Built by Jenks Shipbuilding Company, sold to Owen Sound Transportation, Limited and converted as ferry Normac (Manitoulin Island); retired and sold in 1968 to Lee Marine Limited and to Captain John Restaurant in Toronto; sank in 1981, raised and restored after 1986 and now serves as floating restaurant Tokyo Joe's Bar and Grill in Port Dalhousie, Ontario. Boat burned 2011 and fate unknown. | ||
| 1930 | 1979 | Sold to Robert Massey of Pan Oceanic Engineering Corporation of Alpena, Michigan and converted as tug for Ferris Marine; scrapped in 1994 | |||
| 1979 | present | Docked at foot of 24th Street and Detroit Riverwalk near Riverside Park | |||
| Sivad Johnson | 2020-08-31 | present | A smaller, more modern vessel, named after Sivad Heshimu Johnson, an off-duty firefighter who perished helping to rescue three drowning children |