The Oakland Fire Department showed off its new vessel, the Bay Wolf, a 42-foot fireboat on Wednesday. Stationed at the Oakland-Alameda estuary at Fire Station 2 in Jack London Square, the vessel adds new firefighting and disaster response capabilities to the city. 

The boat was christened by OFD Chaplain Father Jayson Landeza, a longstanding maritime tradition designed to ensure safe voyages. Fire Chief Damon Covington, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, councilmembers Carroll Fife and Charlene Wang, along with Port Commissioner and chamber of commerce CEO Barbara Leslie, and Oakland firefighters union president Seth Olyer were in attendance.

OFD Chaplain Father Jayson Landeza christening the new emergency vessel on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. Credit: courtesy of the Oakland Fire Department

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee at the christening ceremony for the fire department’s new fireboat. Credit: courtesy of the Oakland Fire Department

Oakland Fire Department Chief Damon Covington gave remarks at the christening of the new fireboat named Bay Wolf. Credit: courtesy of the Oakland Fire Department

“For more than two decades, the Oakland Fire Department has operated without a fully operational specialized fireboat. Today, that changes,” Covington said at the christening. “The Bay Wolf restores a critical capability to our city: dedicated marine firefighting, rescue, emergency response, and protection of the vital infrastructure across Oakland’s waterfront.”

In the summer of 2021, OFD received an $825,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency Port Security Grant to purchase the new emergency response vessel. According to OFD spokesperson Michael Hunt, Bay Wolf will provide “regional coverage for the Port of Oakland, waterways, and neighboring cities, and is capable of pumping 12,000 gallons of water per minute — tripling prior marine firefighting capacity.” 

According to Station 2 Captain Tony Paskins, the fireboat is a regional resource that can hold 4 crew members and 12 other people and operate anywhere in the Bay Area. The boat’s 4 roof and bow monitors (cannons) can spray 2,000 gallons per minute each and reach 100 feet. 

If there is ever a disaster that damages the hydrant system on land, Paskins said, the vessel has two large-diameter discharges on the stern of the vessel that can supply large volumes of water to fire engines on shore. 

How long the boat can stay on the water depends on the type of operation, he said. For search and rescue, the fireboat and its crew can be out on the water for hours. If pumping at a fire, they will burn more diesel and the time out on the water will be shorter. The fireboat has 300 gallons of diesel on board. 

On Saturday, Oct. 4, before its official launch and christening, the Bay Wolf assisted in extinguishing a fire at an empty warehouse on 5th avenue near Brooklyn Basin.

The Oakland Fire Department’s new fireboat “Sea Wolf” helped to extinguish a fire at an empty warehouse on 5th Avenue near Brooklyn Basin on Saturday, Oct. 3. Credit: courtesy of the Oakland Fire Department

“This is really a monumental milestone for Oakland’s safety, resilience, and economic future. The federal government has recognized that the port of Oakland isn’t only a local asset; it’s a critical economic engine for Northern California and for the entire nation,” Mayor Lee said. 

The Bay Wolf replaces Sea Wolf, OFD’s previous fire boat that went into service in 1994 and was removed from active service in 2003 when Station 2 closed due to budget cuts. OFD continued to maintain Sea Wolf, however, and the boat briefly sprung back into action in 2010 to extinguish a fire at Tiki Tom’s waterfront restaurant and bar. The city sold Sea Wolf in July.

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