SAVED AT THE SEAWALL: S1:E6

Jessica DuLong on the deck of the historic 1931 New York City fireboat, John J. Harvey.

Today on the Muster Room Podcast we welcome Jessica DuLong, the former chief engineer of the retired 1931 New York City fireboat, John J. Harvey. After the boat was sold into private hands in 1999 for preservation, DuLong joined the crew in February of 2001. As the events of September 11, 2001, were unfolding the John J. Harvey was again pressed back into service to help rescue people trapped in the largest sea-born rescue in history before being called on to help fight the fires that ragged at the World Trade Center site. On September 12th DuLong arrived at the Harvey and operated the engine room and kept the historic fireboat pumping water for nearly 80 hours.

In this episode of the Muster Room, we discuss the Harvey’s role on 9/11 and how the aftermath of the tragedy impacted DuLong. If you want to learn more about Jessica DuLong she has two excellent books out now. Her latest book, SAVED AT THE SEAWALL: Stories from the September 11 Boat Lift (previously released as DUST TO DELIVERANCE), is the definitive history of the largest ever waterborne evacuation. Her 2009 book, MY RIVER CHRONICLES: Rediscovering the Work that Built America, won an American Society of Journalists and Authors Outstanding Book Award for Memoir.

This episode is the first of a series we’ll be putting out with stories from 9/11, told by the heroes that lived them.