GCPEP7 Edward M. Cotter Memorial Micro (Traditional Cache) in New York, United States created by Captain Mundi

This cache has been archived.

Sapience Trek: Hello Exit Mundi -

As the issues with this cache have not been resolved, I must regretfully archive it.

Please note that if geocaches are archived by a reviewer or Geocaching HQ for lack of maintenance, they are not eligible for unarchival.

Sapience Trek

GCPEP7 ▼

A cache by Captain Mundi Message this owner

Hidden : 6/25/2005

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

A large barbed wire fence lies between the cache and the tracks. Please stay on the safe side of the trail and do not attempt to cross the barbed wire fence.The geocache is a 35mm film can and is extremely easy to find. It is located along a strech of the Buffalo River on the other side of the river from the grain factories. The trail it is on continues down to the cache " Down by the River" which I strongly suggest you should complete. Would be a nice biking cache. Located right near the viewing area for the Edward M. Cotter boat as you can read below. This cache is wheelchair acessible. Please replace as you found it if not better. Please bring a pen/pencil with you. Bring your camera and stop by the boat. For mor info about the boat go to:http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/fleet/cotter.htm. Thank you and enjoy a little peice of Buffalo history. Engine 20 of the Buffalo Fire Department is now named after Edward M. Cotter, a long time firefighter union president. She was originally launched as the William S. Grattan in 1900 at Elizabeth, New Jersey. The Cotter had a coal fired steam plant and large, slender stacks in her first configuration. Life was pretty routine for the new boat until the night of July 27th, 1928. The Grattan was fighting a fire aboard the oil barge Cahill on the Buffalo River when the mooring lines burned through. The barge drifted across the channel and hit the tanker McColl. The McColl exploded with a huge fireball that engulfed the fireboat. The Grattan's boilers eventually ran dry and blew up causing the ship to burn to the hull. She was then rebuilt at Buffalo Dry dock with a lower profile and new pump equipment. The Grattan sailed in this form until 1953 when she was converted to diesel power and renamed Edward M. Cotter. On October 7th, 1960 she became the only fireboat to cross and international boundary to fight a fire. She steamed for over an hour that night with a Coast Guard cutter alongside to the Maple Leaf Mill in Port Colborne, Ontario. Once there she helped put down a blaze that had previously been totally out of control. During the 70's and 80's she fought many waterfront fires, some untouchable by any other means. In the early 90's there was a push to give her landmark status but the city fought it off. They were afraid it might limit their ability to update or convert her. She came under fire for her operating expenses a few years later and was taken out of service as an active fireboat. She was retained for her icebreaking ability and this proved to be a prudent decision. Without the fireboat waterfront insurance rates skyrocketed. With the fear of loosing badly needed industrial jobs the city restored the ship to active service. The deck of the Cotter is fitted with numerous fire monitors able to deliver 15,000 gallons of water per minute. The turret platform on the stern is able to raise and lower via a hydraulic ram. The Cotter was recently overhauled at Port Weller Dry Docks and is once again fully operational. She can be seen breaking ice on the Buffalo River at least once a week during the winter and is often open for free public tours during "Fleet Week" over the summer. She is currently the oldest operating fireboat in the country.