Early in the morning on November 16th, 1936, fire engulfed the Portland Fish Company on Custom House Wharf causing $200,000 worth of damage to the building and stores of fish. This Portland Evening Express front page picture, published the same day, showed the Portland fire boat using the "turret" and "after" nozzles. Efforts from the fire boat were hampered by the lack of windows on this side of the building.

This PFD fireboat was probably the 6,000 gpm (gallons per minute) vessel that went into service in 1931, replacing one purchased in 1894.