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Fireboat Cools Down Stuck Buffalo BridgeJuly 2, 2026BUFFALO, NY – People and pets aren’t the only ones feeling the impact of this hot weather this week. Even bridges are struggling. A video posted Wednesday by Fire Buff New York showed the Edward M. Cotter fire boat along the Niagara River. It was called in to help cool off the Michigan Street Bridge. It was so hot that the metal was expanding, making it unable to lift properly“Due to the extreme heat, there was an issue with the metal expanding which caused the bridge to stick. The Edward Cotter was spraying water on the bridge to cool it down,” a City of Buffalo spokesperson said.https://www.boatnerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Edward-M.-Cotter-cooling-off-Bufalo-bridge.-Fire-Buff-400x216.pngEdward M. Cotter cooling off Buffalo bridge. [Fire Buff]   Edward M. Cotter is a fireboat in use by the Buffalo Fire Department at Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally named William S. Grattan, it was built in 1900 by the Crescent Shipyard of Elizabeth Port, New Jersey. Due to age, it was rebuilt in 1953 and renamed Firefighter upon its return to service. The following year it was renamed Edward M. Cotter.[3] Its namesake, Edward Cotter, was a Buffalo firefighter and leader of the local firefighters union who had recently died.[4]Edward M. Cotter is considered to be the oldest active fireboat in the world and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996.[2][5][6] Along with its firefighting duties, during the winter Edward M. Cotter is used as an icebreaker on Buffalo's rivers. Edward M. Cotter mounts five fire monitors that are capable of pumping 15,000 US gallons per minute (0.95 m3/s; 12,000 imp gal/min).[7][8] It can often be seen sailing out of its berth and south-west to Lake Erie, returning north through the breakwall and firing its fire monitors.