BUFFALO, N.Y. — One-hundred-and-twenty-five years is a long time to be doing any job, but Buffalo’s Edward M. Cotter Fireboat is still going strong with its mission.

“We're going to be breaking ice on the Buffalo River," said Michael Kick, the captain of the Edward M. Cotter Fireboat. "It's really one of the main things that we do with the boat.”

With incoming warmer temperatures and rain, it’s a race against the clock to prevent ice jams.

“We've got a job to do," said Kick. "If we just say, 'well, it's lunchtime, we're going to go back,' and we don't finish the job, then we run the risk of having the upstream flooding. West Seneca wouldn't be real happy with us.”

It’s Kick’s first winter and fifth trip at the helm.

“Oh, it's awesome," he exclaimed. "I'm still pinching myself that that I got the chance to be the captain of this boat."

He estimates the boat has saved billions in property damage.

“It's 178 tons. It's 118 feet long," he said. "The weight and the power is kind of what helps us get through [the ice].”

But it is slow going.

Part of Monday’s mission was getting to all of the ice on the river that hasn’t been touched so far. That means a lot of patience, waiting for bridges to go up, so the boat can pass.

The longest wait on this trip was upwards of two hours, though it can sometimes go longer.

“We didn't have our January thaw. The ice this year is worse than it's been in a number of years,” explained Kick.

A full day of work made for good progress.

“You can see we're opening up some pretty good gaps out here,” Kick pointed out, as the Cotter expanded cracks in the sheet of ice ahead of it, some sections of which were as thick as two feet.

Whether it’s for the job done or for the history, they’ll do what they can to keep the Cotter going for years to come.

“A lot of love. A lot of love and a lot of money,” laughed Kick. “When you all come together, everybody works and you get it done. So yeah, it’s been amazing.”

This year so far, the Cotter has used cost about 4,000 gallons of diesel — a cost of about $17,000.

That and salaries are covered by the City of Buffalo.

All maintenance costs fall on the Edward M Cotter Conservancy, a nonprofit.

It's planning a celebration for the Cotter’s 125th anniversary this year.

On Sept. 20, they will have a birthday party at Riverfront Park reenacting its arrival, with plenty of other fun family activities.