St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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ST. LOUIS — An out-of-use St. Louis Fire Department rescue boat sank at its Mississippi River dock Wednesday night, authorities said.
The Phelim O’Toole, owned by the department, begin sinking just before 10 p.m. About half an hour later, it was largely submerged.
The boat had been out of service for a few years after being replaced by the Jack Buck.
Firefighters pulled two other boats alongside to examine the Phelim O’Toole at the dock along the riverfront, just south of the Poplar Street Bridge. They planned to return today to pull the boat out with a crane.
The boat, given to the city by the Coast Guard in 1993, is named for a legendary St. Louis firefighter. O’Toole is credited with saving 14 lives during the Southern Hotel Fire in 1877. He died several years later when a fire extinguisher exploded.