| Fire Island Ferries, Inc. | |
| Locale: | Fire Island, New York |
| Transit Type: | Passenger, Freight & Water Taxi |
| Lines: | 8 |
| Website: | Fire Island Ferries |
| Hub: | Bay Shore, New York |
| Began Operation: | 1948 [1] |
| Operator: | Fire Island Ferries, Inc. |
Fire Island Ferries is a passenger and freight ferry service, serving the Western communities of Fire Island, New York.[2]
Edward J. Mooney, who joined the company in 1948, acquired Fire Island Ferries in 1972. After Mooney's death in December 2020, his casket was taken around Great South Bay for a memorial aboard one of the company's ferry boats.[3]
On September 20, 2009, at 10:10 eastern daylight time, the passenger ferry Fire Island Belle, with 100 passengers, the vessel master, and two deckhands on board, experienced an engine room fire in the Great South Bay between Long Island and Fire Island, New York. The vessel had departed Ocean Beach, Fire Island, 10 minutes earlier, and was approximately from the dock at Fair Harbor, Fire Island, when the fire broke out.
No passengers or crewmembers were injured, and no pollution resulted. The cost of repairing the vessel was $490,000. The U.S. Coast Guard was the leadinvestigative agency in the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) provided assistance with fire investigation and metallurgical analysis.
On July 26, 2020, while en route to Ocean Bay Park, the Fireball and her crew came to the rescue of a family of six whose boat had capsized in the Great South Bay. All six occupants onboard the boat survived with only minor injuries; The crew of the Fireball was later awarded Coast Guard Honors for their heroism.[4] [5]
As of May 2023, Fire Island Ferries, Inc. operates the following vessels:
| Fire Island Miss | 1976 | |
| Fireball | 1981 | |
| Firebird | 1984 | |
| Stranger | 1985 | |
| Voyager | 1990 | |
| Explorer | 1991 | |
| Fire Island Flyer | 2001 | |
| Fire Island Belle | 2009 | |
| Fire Island Queen | 2011 | |
| Fire Islander | 2013 | |
| Isle of Fire | 2019 |