Bill Friedrich provided the following information about the Peotone Fire Protection District
Fire Chief Bill Schreiber is pleased to announce the arrival of his newest vehicle in the fleet. They purchased this vehicle from the Normal FD in McLean County. Bill expects this vehicle to go in service some time during November. He also reports this vehicle is not replacing anything.
Peotone purchased this 1979 Seagrave P-Series 50' Snorkel from the Normal Fire Department in central Illinois. It has a 1,250-GPM pump and carries 500 gallons of water. The cab enclosure and other bodywork was done by RPI in Tipton, IN. Bill Friedrich photo
Prior to the refurb and cab enclosure, this is how the Snorkel looked originally. Bill Friedrich photo
Chief Schreiber sent a few images of the unit when it arrived and Peotone personnel tried it out.
The Snorkel when it arrived in Peotone. Bill Schreiber photo
Members of the Peotone Fire Protection District tested their 'new' Snorkel. Bill Schreiber photo
Another view of the 'new' Snorkel being worked. Bill Schreiber photo
#1 by Dave Bloom on December 4, 2012 - 8:43 PM
There is an old “Snorkel” on rt45/LaGrange rd., just north of Manteno/Deselm Rd with a “For Sale” sign on it. I even think it is of Snorkel manufacture. Someone a bit higher up on a town’s totem pole would have to investigate, and see if it’s suitable for rebuild/rehab.
#2 by danny on November 3, 2011 - 3:15 PM
id love to see pics of it over the years as various companies
#3 by Bill Post on November 3, 2011 - 1:42 PM
Danny as far as the dimensions of the chassis goes, I don’t know for certain if the dimensions on the Hendrickson/Pierce 55-foot Snorkel were larger than our current HME/Central States Snorkels. The cabinets on our current Snorkel Squads seem to be taller and the Snorkels are definitely mounted higher on the body of the rig as opposed to the Hendrickson/Pierce. The Snorkels themselves were the same length however.
The Hendrickson/Pierce 55-foot Snorkel did have an interesting history however. It was originally assigned to Snorkel Squad 1 from 1976 until 1979 when Snorkel Squad 1 was taken out of service. From April 1981 until September of 1983 it ran out of Engine 123’s house first as “New Snorkel 4” and in September of 1982 it was renumbered as Snorkel 5 when it’s district number was changed. From September 1983 until around late 1986 it was a Reserve Snorkel running out 122 and 72’s quarters at various times. From late 1986 till April of 1987 it was assigned to Squad 1. From the spring of 1987 till the fall of 1988 it ran as Squad 5.
It resumed running as Squad 5 after September of 1989 (when Squad 5’s new Spartan E-One Snorkel was totaled) until late 1996 when it was taken out of service as Squad 5 received Squad 1’s 1987 Spartan E-One as a hand-me-down rig. So it ran for close to 21 years as various Snorkel and Snorkel Squad companies.
#4 by danny on November 3, 2011 - 10:01 AM
three 114 foot snorkels would be great and i agree downtown should have another high aerial i member i took a ride on the old Aerial Tower 3 when i was a youngin. wasnt the old squad 5 hendrickson bigger then the 55 footer they have currently?
#5 by Bill Post on November 3, 2011 - 12:14 AM
The Bronto Skylifts are too large to be used as part of the squad companies. The current Skylifts that are built in America come in three sizes.They are 100, 114, and 134 foot models.
It might make sense to either get a Bronto Skylift to replace our full size Reserve Snorkel or to put a 134 foot model in service at one of the downtown truck companies such as at Aerial Tower 1, Truck 3, or Truck 6. Aerial Tower 1’s previous rig was a 135 foot straight aerial ladder and Truck 3 had been using a 135 foot one from 1985 til 1995 when it was totaled in an accident when the truck crashed into a building while responding to an alarm in “River North”.
Aerial Tower One had also run with a one of kind 135 foot “Morita Lift” aerial ladder which had a “collapsible ” elevator basket which lifted firefighters up and down the aerial ladder when it was extended. It was built on a Hendrickson/Pierce chassis and ran from about 1975 until 1987.
#6 by Brian on November 2, 2011 - 8:10 PM
Thanks Dennis…good ol American take-a-chance
#7 by danny on November 2, 2011 - 4:36 PM
pierce owns bronto skylift now so it would be interesting to see if chicago went that route
#8 by Mitch Hartman on November 2, 2011 - 3:38 PM
American LaFrance/LTI retains the rights to Snorkel however none have been built in the recent past by them and they have no plans to revive it. Chicago is looking at 3 new platforms and 2 manufacturers have said that they have been told that the Snorkel plans can be purchased for a price. And Pierce says they can make their own.
#9 by Dennis on November 2, 2011 - 3:38 PM
Drew, yea I knew no one else has the technology to build the “snorkel” type unit and that one for Fruitport had to be a remount.
Brian, American LaFrance bought all the rights, parts and paperwork on snorkel years ago.
#10 by Brian on November 2, 2011 - 11:50 AM
Who owns the rights to Snorkel as a fire product and will they ever produce these for new rigs and not refurbs again?
#11 by Drew Smith on November 1, 2011 - 11:14 PM
Spoke with Jeff Morris, owner and president of Alexis fire equipment. He stated the Fruitport was a refurb of a Snorkel and then it was remounted on a new chassis.
#12 by Brian on November 1, 2011 - 10:13 AM
@Dennis, I posted the link below your two comments.
#13 by Dennis on October 31, 2011 - 11:33 PM
Here is the link for Fruitport, Michigan FD. I believe that this unit is a remount of a previous snorkel.
http://www.fruitportfire.com/542.asp
#14 by Dennis on October 31, 2011 - 11:30 PM
Drew, I looked on the Alexis website for about 20 minutes and could not find anything on snorkel type units. Do you have a link?
#15 by Brian on October 31, 2011 - 10:26 PM
Here is the link to the spec sheet Drew mentioned. Though they do list it as a 55′ Snorkel in the sheet and a snorkel in the apparatus description.
http://www.alexisfire.com/Literature/FruitportSnorkel1795.PDF
#16 by Drew Smith on October 31, 2011 - 5:55 PM
Contrary to popular belief you can buy an articulating platform albeit not the Snorkle brand. Alexis fire equipment built one for Fruitport, MI a few years back. A spec seet is available on Alexis’ website.
#17 by Keith on October 31, 2011 - 9:17 AM
Evergreen Park runs Snorkel Squad 3, a 1975 Seagrave 55′ Snorkel purchased from Wilmette, IL. They removed the pump and tank, added additional compartments and repainted the roof black to match their fleet.
#18 by Bill Post on October 30, 2011 - 3:00 PM
Those are great shots of the “new” Peotone Snorkel. It is good to see that there are still some fire departments interested on obtaining “Snorkels” beside the CFD. I recently read that Chicago is just about ready to release the specs on new Squad apparatus and according to the City Department of Procurement it is supposed to include a Snorkel. Assuming that it is still true, it means that Chicago will be in the market for 3 Snorkels which means that they will either have to rehab their current 55 foot Snorkels or they will have to buy someone else’s used Snorkels like Peotone did. Peotone’s Snorkel looks so good that I kind of wished that the CFD would have purchased it.