As provided by Bill Post, here is the page of the Chicago 2011 City Purchasing Plan which deals with fleet items, specifically those having to do with the fire department. Please note that several of the generic vehicles could also be related to the fire department but were not itemized as such. On another page, there is a $8,000,000 item for ambulances.
Highlights of the Chicago 2011 City Purchasing Plan as it pertains to fire department apparatus.
If the image doesn’t view well on your screen, it is downloadable.
#1 by shaan smith on February 11, 2012 - 8:44 PM
what kind of fire truck i O’Hare incident command unit going to look like a pierce quatum or a sparten chrimson hi my name is shaan smith i am a huge fan of the chicago fire department
#2 by Jim Wilk on April 8, 2011 - 5:47 PM
If you want to see the original Snorkel built for Chicago, it is sitting outside at the public works garage in Bedford Park. This unit was built for Chicago but was rejected by them. Bedford Park then bought it. It now sits rusting away.
#3 by joe on April 8, 2011 - 12:24 PM
other problems happening with the “older” Pierce trucks & tower ladders is rust! currently trucks 27, 35, 36, & 29 are going through or have been mostly repainted at Van Eck in South Elgin. each repaint and body repair takes about 3-4 months, with truck 4 & tower 10 going next. Pierce is picking up the tab because the paint has a ten year warranty. But some of the rigs are sadly rusting through. Got to love Chicago road salt! they also have ambo 53 there for a repaint and body repair.
#4 by Bill Post on April 8, 2011 - 3:01 AM
Jacob American LaFrance had only built and advertised their Snorkels for a relatively short time. I agree with you that it seems pointless for American LaFrance to hold the rights and plans to build the “Snorkel” if they are not going to build them. Did you know that American LaFrance had even acquired Chicago’s original Snorkel on a 1958 GMC chassis with a 50-foot Pitman Snorkel boom. It is part of their “historic collection”. They should actually give it back to Chicago where, I am sure that the Greater Chicagoland Fire Museum would be able to find space for it and it would serve more relevant historical purpose then to sit in some building out of state owned by a company that isn’t even building anymore Snorkels. American LaFrance might as well sell the rights to build the Snorkel to a company that would be willing to build them. Money must have had something to do with ALF’s decision, but Pierce recently had acquired the rights to market the Bronto Skylift platform which had been held by E-One previously. So it really has to do with whether the manufacturer has the resources and the interest to build and market the apparatus.
#5 by Bill Post on April 8, 2011 - 2:45 AM
Yes Chris you are correct, Squad 7 is a 2000 model which makes it around the same age as the “Snorkel Squads” in Chicago proper. I don’t know where our current three 55-foot Snorkels are from and I was surprised myself when I was told that they were remounted as I had thought that the Snorkels had been purchased “new”. We are down to one spare 55-foot Snorkel now just as you had written. One of the two reserve 1987 Spartan E/One Snorkel Squads was recently sold.
#6 by chris on April 7, 2011 - 6:49 PM
i think 7 is a 2000 or 02 and i think they no longer have a spare out there
#7 by Chris S. on April 7, 2011 - 6:39 PM
Why replace SQ.7 – the Pierce they have now just isn’t that old ?
#8 by Jacob on April 7, 2011 - 2:00 AM
why would ALF buy Snorkel Corp. if they weren’t going to build snorkels anymore? what liability do companies not want to take? do they breakdown or fail a lot? and finally what’s the difference between the first highlighted one and second to last one. it seems that they’re the same order just worded differently.
#9 by DGFD218 on April 7, 2011 - 12:17 AM
I thought that the department of aviation paid for the rigs that were stationed at the airports?
#10 by chris on April 7, 2011 - 12:01 AM
hey bill do you know where the three rehabbed snorkels came from because the only 2 55 footers the ciy had were the spartans that are reserve now and i think they are down to only 1 spare 55 foot snorkel
#11 by Bill Post on April 6, 2011 - 10:36 PM
Josh, as far as I know, the city hasn’t made an announcement for bids on the Snorkel Squads as of yet, but there is no doubt that the Snorkels would have to be rehabbed “remounts” on new chassis and bodies unless someone can convince the American LaFrance corporation to build the CFD new Snorkels, since “ALF” purchased the rights to build the Snorkel from the Snorkel Corporation some time ago. Since then American LaFrance has stopped advertising and building their Snorkel products. Another contributor to this website had mentioned previously that the current 55-foot Snorkels on our squad companies were rehabbed and remounted by the (at the time) local distributor of Central States apparatus in the Chicago area.
#12 by joe on April 6, 2011 - 10:25 PM
hey all, the city is having a hard time finding a builder for the Snorkel. No manufacturer will take the liability of a 50-foot Snorkel. Look for a rehabbed Snorkel and basket on a new body.
#13 by Josh Boyajian on April 6, 2011 - 9:13 PM
That is awesome! New squad companies and a command for O’Hare. I wonder if the new squads will be Crimson?