Alexander Grantham (fireboat)

The Alexander Grantham was a fireboat of Hong Kong's Fire Services Department. The fireboat was named after former Governor Sir Alexander Grantham. The boat has since retired from service and been replaced by other vessels.

This article is about the fireboat. For the Governor of Hong Kong, see Alexander Grantham.

History
Hong Kong (Fire Services Department)
Name: Alexander Grantham
Namesake: Alexander Grantham
Builder: Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock
Launched: 22 December 1952
In service: 1953
Out of service: May 2002[1]
Status: Museum ship
General characteristics
Type: Fireboat
Displacement: 511 tons[1]
Length: 38.9 m (128 ft) [1]
Beam: 8.8 m (29 ft)[1]
Height: 15 m (49 ft)[1]
Speed: 12.5 knots
Alexander Grantham
Traditional Chinese葛量洪號

On 10 March 2006, the fireboat was successfully hoisted into its new permanent home in the Central Concourse of Quarry Bay Park, Hong Kong, where it has been converted into the Fireboat Alexander Grantham Exhibition Gallery and was opened to the public as a museum in 2007, managed by LCSD. In addition to the fireboat itself, the gallery houses a number of multimedia exhibits on the vessel's history and on firefighting in Hong Kong.

3D Laser Scanning Technology in digital recording of structures was applied to capture the 3D images of the structure.[2]

Public Display
Fireboat Alexander Grantham at Quarry Bay Park.

The lifting of the 500-tonne historic boat onto land is the first project of its kind ever conducted in Asia. Alexander Grantham is also the first boat preserved as a historic relic in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Museum of History's largest 'Made in Hong Kong' collection item.

The landing of the Alexander Grantham marks the end of 50 years of service in Victoria Harbour, though the vessel remains on the waterfront in its new role. Construction of the exhibition gallery was performed with assistance from the Architectural Services Department and the Leisure & Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong.

A showcase of HK's sea salvage history

Alexander Grantham, the largest in the fleet of fireboats, was built by the Hong Kong Whampoa Dock Company Limited in 1953 and decommissioned in May 2002, after 49 years of service.

Measuring 38.9 metres long, 8.8 metres wide, 15 metres tall and with a loaded displacement of 511 tonnes, it has taken part in numerous fire-fighting and rescue operations, including the Seawise University fire in 1972, the Eastern Gate fire in the 1980s and the New Orient Princess fire in 1993.

Alexander Grantham is also a great example of the Hong Kong shipbuilding industry's achievements in the early 1950s. It showcases Hong Kong's sea salvage history of the past century and provides a glimpse of the territory's social development.



Transportation

The fireboat is accessible within walking distance North East from Tai Koo Station of the MTR.

References
  1. "The "Fireboat Alexander Grantham Exhibition"". Leisure and Cultural Services Department - Conservation Office. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  2. How surveyors use 3D Laser Scanning Technology in digital recording of structures Archived 2011-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (issued on 17 January 2007)
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