Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
TPL-8532
Date(s)
- 1926 (Creation)
Extent
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
ca. 1926. William L. Case, son of "Bill" (William T.) Case, poses on tugboat Foss #12. For many years, #12 served the city of Tacoma as a fireboat. It was skippered for much of that time by the elder Case. In 1914, #12 was the first vessel designed and built for Foss exclusively for towing. It was built primarily for turning the Seattle-Tacoma passenger steamers in the City Waterway and designed so that one man, the captain, could run the engine, pilot the boat and tend the lines. Arthur Foss made a proposal to the city that they contract with Foss for the services of a fireboat. The agreement was made at a cost to the city of $2993 a year ($8.20 a day.) Foss #12 was refitted with a powerful pump that could throw 1200 gallons of water per minute at a pressure of 400 pounds per square inch. Two men were stationed on the tug at all times and it could reach any harbor fire within 6 minutes of receiving a call. The tug was instrumental in controlling several potentially disastrous waterfront fires. (photograph courtesy of the William T. Case collection) (Foss: A Living Legend" by Bruce Johnson and Mike Skalley)
Case, William T.--Family; Fireboats; Foss Launch & Tug Co. (Tacoma); Case, William L.; Tugboats--Tacoma--1920-1930;