fireboat

thumb|right|London Fire Brigade fireboat, [[River Thames, London]] thumb|right|Toronto Fireboat WL Mackenzie thumb|right|Onboard view of Fireboat John J. Harvey in [[Tauba Auerbach dazzle camouflage performing a water pumping demonstration in Oyster Bay, New York with artificial rainbow visible]] thumb|right|Italian fireboat CLASS M thumb|right|A fireboat of the fire department of Frankfurt, Germany thumb|right|HKFS fireboat Excellence thumb|right|San Francisco fireboat Phoenix thumb|right|Deluge, retired fire fighting tug thumb|Tokyo Fire Department's Ariake fireboat thumb|The Edward M. Cotter of Buffalo, New York, considered the world's oldest active fireboat

A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipment. Older designs derived from tugboats and modern fireboats more closely resembling seafaring ships can both be found in service today. Some departments would give their multi-purpose craft the title of "fireboat" also.