The John D. McKean Fireboat is now among a prestigious group after it was added to the National Register of Historic Places last week.

One of eight fireboats on that list, it helped during the Sept. 11 attacks by getting people out of Manhattan and putting out fires and responded to the Miracle on the Hudson in 2009.

"It now means we're eligible for grants and tax abatements,” said David Rocco, vice president of the Fireboat McKean Preservation Project. “Most importantly, respectability, validity to the project that it's serious, and it deserves to be preserved and restored. Now we have that stamp of approval."

With the new national distinction, the group overseeing the boat hopes to get more funding to restore the craft and make it into a floating museum to teach generations of visitors about the McKean's importance and role through history.

“When we got this in 2016 at the auction, this place was a mess,” added Rocco. “So these guys have put in a lot of hours to clean up the fireboat.”

The John D. McKean Fireboat was added to New York State's historic registry in 2022 and is currently docked in Stony Point.