Pittsburgh's new fireboat named for late Mayor Sophie Masloff

PITTSBURGH — PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh's new fire boat has arrived and it's named, aptly enough, for a former mayor known for her siren-like voice.

The city's new Fireboat 1, the Sophie Masloff, arrived Wednesday. It will be dry-docked until it can be inspected and put into service.

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The city's last fire boat was decommissioned and sold in 1973 to Tampa, Florida. Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich asked the city to buy the new $420,000 boat after crews struggled to douse flames on a burning boat on the Ohio River in 2015.

Masloff was 96 when she died in 2014 and served as mayor from 1988 to 1994. The self-described "old Jewish grandmother" was known for her voice which became screechy when she was excited, prompting local comedians and radio personalities to lampoon it on morning radio shows.

Associated Press