Built by Johnson Drydock & Shipbuilding Co. of New Orleans in 1923,[3] she was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

The Deluge helped aid the firemen by dousing the school with a quarter of a million gallons of water from the river.

Deluge quickly arrived and peppered the boats and the surrounding area with gallons of water.

[3] It was possible the fireboat would be stripped for its scrap metal if no buyer came forward, as the maintenance for the boat was steadily increasing.

[3] Due to an absence of reliable information concerning the boat's condition since its sale in 2000, its National Historic Landmark designation was withdrawn in 2023.