Engine 20 of the Buffalo Fire Department was originally christened in 1900 as the W. S. Gratten, who was the Fire Commissioner at the time. In 1953, she was converted to diesel power and was rededicated as the Edward M. Cotter, after the President of the Buffalo Fire Fighters Local #282.

She has a rich history, from fighting the 1928 fire aboard the oil barge Cahill, to being the only fireboat ever to cross an international boundary to fight a fire at the Maple Leaf Mill in Port Colborne in 1960. At 105 years old, the Cotter is the oldest operating fireboat in the world!