society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessels with other specific uses > [noun] > vessel used to fight fires (3)
(a) a boat loaded with burning material and explosives, which is set adrift to ignite and blow up an enemy's ships or installations; = fireship, n. 1…
†(a) a buoyant platform or boat used as a waterborne incendiary (obsolete); (b) a barge or boat equipped with a water jet for use in…
A flat-bottomed boat. Also a boat-load. In quot. 1890: = fire float n. See also fishing-float n.