According to The Milwaukee Journal, "Deluge will be the most modern and one of the most powerful fire fighting craft west of New York city."'
[2] According to an article published in Pacific Marine, shortly after her launch, diesel's advantages included: smaller crew; a crew requiring less specialized skills; and a lower profile, that enabled the Deluge to go under Milwaukee's low bridges to fight fires on her rivers.
In 1978 The Milwaukee Journal reported that a recent refit had made her the only fireboat in North America equipped with an aqueous film forming foam delivery system.
[5] She was to be replaced by an amphibious firefighting vehicle, sparing the cost of the eight crew trained to operate Deluge.
In 1986 the chief of Milwaukee's fire department and the head of the firefighter's union disagreed on whether Deluge's replacement was safe.