Archive for July, 2010

Several departments coming to the site

Jul 23

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, New Listing, Site News | Comments off

As time permits, photographs from the following new departments will be added to the site;

Joliet (images from Dennis McGuire, Karl Klotz, and George Reichardt)
Crestwood (images from Dennis McGuire and Karl Klotz)
Dolton (images from Dennis McGuire and Karl Klotz)
Alsip (images from Dennis McGuire and Karl Klotz)
CFD Special Operations (images from Hank Sajovic)

The following departments will be updated to include images that are missing:

Frankfort (images from Karl Klotz)
Tinley Park (images from Karl Klotz and Dennis McGuire)
Itasca (images from Larry Shapiro)
Rolling Meadows (images from Larry Shapiro)
Elk Grove Village (images from Larry Shapiro)

Tags: Alsip, Chicago, Crestwood, Dolton, Elk Grove Village, Frankfort, Itasca, Joliet, Klotz, McGuire, Rolling Meadows, Sajovic, Shapiro, Tinley Park

New Medtec ambulances

Jul 23

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, New Apparatus Order, New Delivery | Comments off

Ambulance 15 in Rolling Meadows is slated to be replaced in the next several months with an IHC 4300/Medtec Type I unit.

Ambulance 8 in Elk Grove Village recently received a 2009 Ford E450/Medtec Type III unit. (sn 8505)

Additionally in Elk Grove, Battalion 2 has a new 2009 Chevy Suburban which is red. This replaces the previous unit that was maroon.

Tags: Chevy Suburban, Elk Grove Village, Ford, IHC, MedTec, Rolling Meadows, ROLM

New Schiller Park engine

Jul 22

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, New Delivery | Comments off

Schiller Park (Division 20) received a new Impel engine from Pierce in March. From a distance, the Impel and the Velocity appear identical since they use the same cab, but the available features and trim are among items that represent the differences in cost between the two.

The new Pierce Impel 1,500/500/30A engine in Schiller Park. Larry Shapiro photo

Schiller Park Pierce Impel pumper low hosebed

Engine 455 features a low hose bed design which has become popular in recent years. This is similar to a design which has been used for many years in New York Cty. Larry Shapiro photo

The pump panel for Engine 455 shows a foam system and color coded gauges. Larry Shapiro photo

Engine 455 spent time yesterday in Bensenville/Chicago while Schiller Park firefighters trained with Chicago and Bensenville firefighters in the buildings being torn down as part of the O’Hare Modernization Project. A large photo gallery plus a video segment of the training evolutions and the apparatus on-hand can be seen HERE.

The engine supplied hand lines for the training evolution. This was built in 2007 and used as a demonstrator for Pierce which explains the absence of chevron striping on the rear. Schiller Park received the unit in March of this year. Larry Shapiro photo

Schiller Park Engine 455 is a 2007 Pierce Impel, shown here training with firefighters from Chicago and Bensenville. Larry Shapiro photo

Tags: Impel, Pierce, Schiller Park, Shapiro

Crimson unit in progress

Jul 21

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, Fire Service News, New Delivery | Comments off

Crimson Fire Apparatus is one of several manufacturers that posts photos of units in production so that interested parties can see the progress of particular units being built. Their website lists Naperville and Chicago as having units being built which can be viewed in production.

Click HERE for the status of the new Naperville engine (slated for Engine 4 to replace the last remaining Freightliner in frontline service) – Spartan Gladiator chassis 1500/750

Click HERE to see the status of a new engine for Chicago – Spartan Gladiator 1500/500

Click HERE to see the status of the first Chicago 103′ rear mount Crimson aerial – Spartan Gladiator 103′ RM 0/0

As a side note, it appears that Crimson will have to accomplish quite a bit to get one of the new Chicago aerials to display at the International FIre Chief’s show in Chicago this August (FRI).

For those who never saw the Crimson press release in March about the Chicago aerials:

Back to News & Events

Brandon, S.D., March 31, 2010 – Crimson Fire, Inc. has signed a three-year contract with the city of Chicago to build more than 30 custom aerial fire trucks.

The Brandon, S.D.-based manufacturer of custom fire trucks and other rescue vehicles has begun designing and building five 103-foot rear-mount aerial trucks for the Windy City. Chicago, which also has a three-year contract with Crimson Fire to provide custom pumpers, could purchase as many as 30 aerial units over the life of the contract.

Equipment Management Co., the Crimson Fire dealership serving Illinois, secured the aerial contract for Chicago and will sell and service the apparatus. EMC, which also has operations in Arizona, joined the growing family of Crimson Fire dealers in July 2009.

“Chicago is a long-standing Crimson Fire customer, and we are honored to provide its firefighters with our custom aerials,” said Jim Salmi, president of Crimson Fire Aerials. “The city faces some unique emergency-rescue challenges, particularly with overall height restrictions and maneuvering through older neighborhoods. The Crimson Fire aerial enhances maneuverability in urban settings and delivers rugged, dependable performance with each run.”

The 103-foot rear-mount aerials, the longest available in the Crimson Fire product suite, will be built on a Spartan Gladiator® cab and chassis. The aerial will feature a low-profile design with an overall travel height of 11 feet, making it more maneuverable in the city. An aluminum body and the unique tubular design enable Crimson Fire to build the strongest and most durable trucks on the market.

The new Crimson Fire aerials also feature the industry’s only “greaseless” ladder through the patented roller assembly system, X-style outriggers and a ladder lift cradle that provides enhanced range of operation.

About Crimson Fire – Crimson Fire is a leading manufacturer of custom fire trucks and other rescue vehicles. A subsidiary of Spartan Motors, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPAR), Crimson Fire is committed to quality, value and innovation. Drawing on more than 130 years of excellence in fire truck manufacturing, Crimson Fire manufactures a full line of pumpers, rescues, aerials, quick-attack vehicles and other emergency-rescue vehicles from its facilities in Pennsylvania and South Dakota.

Tags: Chicago, Crimson, FRI, Gladiator, in production, International Fire Chiefs, Spartan

McHenry Township is added

Jul 20

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, New Listing | Comments off

McHenry Township FPD Station 1 in downtown McHenry is also the headquarters for the fire district. Larry Shapiro photo

The largest fire department in McHenry County Division 5 is the McHenry Township FIre Protection District. With over 150 part-time firefighters running out of four stations, this department responded to 4,369 calls for service in 2009 in a district that is roughly 56 square miles. Their fleet of suppression equipment is 99% Pierce with the one exception being a 1986 S&S tanker running out of Station 2. The newest additions are a pair of twin 2009 Pierce Velocity engines and a 2010 Ford F350/Medtec Type I ambulance. Prior to the purchase of these Velocity units, all McHenry Township engines were on Pierce Lance chassis. They have two squad units; one Pierce Arrow and one Pierce Saber.

Tags: Arrow, Division 5, Ford F350, Klotz, McHenry Township, MedTec, Pierce, Saber, Sajovic, Shapiro, Velocity

US Tanker or US Tank?

Jul 19

Posted by bgshap in Site News | Comments off

After adding several units recently to the site and finding both US Tank and US Tanker on various nameplates, a call was placed to the manufacturer to determine the story. So, for those interested in the difference, the company, which is now called US Tanker, says that between the years of 1989 through 1996 they went by the name US Tank. Since then, they are known as US Tanker. The confusion was renewed recently with Tanker 72 in Woodstock which was manufactured in 1993 and is branded with the name of US Tank. (although it is currently labeled incorrectly on the site as US Tanker and will be updated.)

Tags: US Tank, US Tanker, Woodstock

Division 1 construction updates

Jul 19

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, New Fire Station | Comments off

We have been following the progress of two new fire stations in Division 1. Mount Prospect Station 14 on Kensington Road opened several months ago but was not complete until recently when the bay doors were installed. Mount Prospect officials had refused to accept the bi-fold doors with windows on at least two occasions due to a substandard paint job. The building opened with solid doors as mentioned HERE and HERE. Today the station was photographed with the proper doors. As a side note, it appears that a reserve ambulance and a reserve engine are housed at this station which will require an update to the site listing.

Mount Prospect Fire Department station 14

Mount Prospect Station 14 at 2000 Kensington Road is now complete with the proper doors installed for the apparatus bays. Larry Shapiro photo

Station 14 opened with the temporary solid bi-fold doors. Larry Shapiro photo

The second fire station that we’ve been keeping tabs on is the new headquarters Station 24 on Milwaukee Avenue in Wheeling. Running about a month behind schedule, the majority of this project has been completed. The station has company quarters including kitchen, dayroom, bunk room and lockers on the first floor while the headquarters space and training room are on the second floor.

Wheeling's new headquarters station 24 on Milwaukee Avenue shown here is nearing completion. Larry Shapiro photo

Tags: construction, Mount Prospect, MTPR, Shapiro, station, Wheeling, WHLG

New fire station for Palatine

Jul 19

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, New Fire Station | 1 Comment

The Daily Herald reported on July 14th that crews will break ground next month for a new fire station in Palatine.

Palatine Fire Department Station 81 rendering

An artist rendering of the new building for Palatine Station 81. Source; The Daily Herald

Palatine residents getting used to the police headquarters construction will soon notice hard hats at a second public safety-related work site.

Crews are expected to break ground within 30 to 45 days on a satellite fire station at 1215 N. Quentin Road, located at the corner of Echo Lane.

The village council on Monday unanimously approved a contract that sets the guaranteed maximum price for construction at $2.56 million. That factors in subcontractor bids, construction contingency, construction manager fee and bond cost.

When combined with planning, design, furnishings and other administrative costs, the total project is coming in at $2.98 million, or just under the $3 million budget.

The village’s burden could prove less if the state releases a $575,000 commitment to the project through its capital plan. Palatine isn’t counting on it and is prepared to secure funding through other means.

“We’re planning for the worst, meaning that we don’t get anything,” Village Manager Reid Ottesen said. “Realistically, I’d put it at a 50-50 chance right now.”

Next month, Palatine will initiate the first of two bond issues in order to fund both the fire station and the much larger $23 million police headquarters. The decision was made to secure funding in two phases, Ottesen said, because the buildings won’t be ready until next year and there’s no point in borrowing the full amount upfront just to pay interest on it.

Earlier this year, the 8,700-square-foot building’s design was scaled back to come in under budget. Changes were mostly cosmetic, though accommodations were reduced to change the maximum number of personnel from six to five firefighters.

The cost savings could be partly erased if the village doesn’t agree to waive its automatic sprinkler requirement in the noncombustible attic space.

The satellite fire station should be operational by March or April. The Dundee Road station will close, and the Masonic Lodge will take over the space.

Fire officials say the new station is necessary in order to improve response times to west and northwest Palatine compared to the current station.

Tags: Division 1, new fire station, Palatine

New engine for Westchester

Jul 19

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, New Delivery | Comments off

The Westchester Fire Department in Division 20 has reportedly purchased an E-ONE Typhoon engine. The unit which was a demonstrator has a 2,000-GPM pump and carries 1,000 gallons of water. Presumably it also has a foam tank.

Tags: Division 20, E-ONE, EONE, Typhoon, Westchester

Carol Stream squad

Jul 19

Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, New Delivery | Comments off

It appears from production photos at Alexis that the Spartan/Alexis squad for Carol Stream has been completed. This is a walk-around unit with a 2-door (stubby) cab.