Last winter, the Firehouse boat dock on Canal St was completely destroyed by the formation of ice in the branch canal. It had built up between the sea wall and the floating section eventually bending 2" Galvanized Steel Pipe like it was nothing. Since that occurrence in February of 2014, the Delaware City Fire Company Dock has seen some incredible transformation.

In March of 2014, the floating section of the dock was newly constructed featuring 3 sections totaling 48' in length by 8 feet in width. The old dock was 36' x 4'. The new dock is like standing on an aircraft carrier deck. The entire surface is Trex Decking to maximize the longevity and reduce the maintenance. The floating sections rise and fall with the tide utilizing a state of the art railing system manufactured by a company called Slide Moor. This all aluminum railing located in three strategic places on the sea wall allows the dock to freely move up and down the sea wall. During the planning, consideration was given to flood tide. The rails are each 16' long with a trolley on each that's attached to the dock. In late April 2014, the Delaware City Refinery donated a custom fabricated aluminum Gangway and landing. The Gangway, Slide Moor Railings and Docks themselves were all installed free of charge by the Refinery. To finish out the construction of the project, a transition was built from the aluminum gate to the gangway landing. It even includes a removable railing to allow the flood door to close for the town sea wall.

In November of 2014 all of the Electric was repaired and or replaced. 100A service was run to the existing "D" post (existing electrical pedestal) allowing us to run 60A service right down to the new Power Pedestal on the floating section. High intensity LED area lights were added to the topside to add adequate scene lighting for night time operations. During the course of the dock construction, the fence line gate was repaired, painted and a new mechanical lock installed.

On this past Thursday, Jan 15, three agitators were installed to prevent ice from building up around the floating dock and boat ever again. These devices churn the water and are controlled by thermostats which activate these motors at 35 degrees F. There are a few minor items to finish like mounting the dock box, connecting the water supply, adding a GFI main breaker and a switch for the LED area light. Other than that it's a project encompassing almost a year with many hands helping to create it. None of it would have been possible without the funding received from the State of Delaware on behalf of Representative Valerie Longhurst who committed almost $15,000 to this project.

In the early summer, the new Fire boat 15 will be birthed at it's new home at 114 Canal St.