Photo: Lt. Dale A. Brown with Covington Fire Boat 1.

Covington firefighters dedicate boat to one of their own: Lt. Dale A. Brown

COVINGTON, Ky. – Lt. Dale A. Brown was instrumental in the design and implementation of the Covington Fire Department’s Fire Boat 1, the 35-foot rescue vessel the department dispatches for emergencies on the Ohio and Licking rivers. In fact, he remained the go-to resource for seemingly unanswerable questions about the boat, and was on hand to help with its maintenance issues, long after he retired from the department in 2011.

“He took great pride in being assigned to Rescue 1 and the Fire Boat,” said Covington Fire Department’s Lt. James Adams. “When the boat was pulled from the water in 2017 and placed at headquarters at Robbins Street for repairs, Dale would stop by to check on the boat.”

Brown passed away in 2019, but the boat he took great pride in helping create and maintain will soon bear his name, thanks to Lt. Adams’ recommendation.

On Friday, Sept. 8, at 2:30 p.m. at the Eastern Overlook of Covington Plaza, the Covington Fire Department will hold a dedication ceremony to unveil the renaming of Fire Boat 1 the “Lt. Dale A. Brown” Fire Boat.

“Lt. Dale A. Brown was a fireman’s fireman – a mentor to every young firefighter, never too busy to pass on his knowledge, no matter the time of day,” said Covington Fire Chief Mark Pierce, adding that Brown was on the specification committee that designed and, ultimately, saw the completion of the fire boat.

“Naming the boat in his honor will be a reminder to all of the dedication that Dale poured into making our water resources what they are today,” said Pierce.

The fire boat is powered by two 300-horsepower Mercury outboards and armed with a 1,000 gallon-per-minute fire pump. It’s been dispatched hundreds of times for emergencies on the Ohio and Licking rivers.

Throughout the years, Covington firefighters have rescued survivors of boat collisions, put out boat fires, recovered bodies, and floated nearby as people threatened to jump off bridges. It also patrols Riverfest and other large riverfront events. The boat’s permanent dock location is at the B&B Riverboat complex in Newport.

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