chicagoareafire.com

16 Comments

• #1 by Jim Reed on January 12, 2016 - 6:41 PM

  

  Hello, My grandfather was Kenneth Timmons from Columbus Ohio. He owned Timco Truck Bodies in the 60’s. I was looking for examples of his work and came across this site. Does anyone have any information that might be helpful? I know he made fire trucks and beverage trucks etc.
  Regards,
  Jim Reed
  Bear Lake, Michigan
  Jimshelleyreed@charter.net

• #2 by Jim Ziegler on November 17, 2012 - 6:54 PM

  

  Does anyone know where Snorkel 3 was initially put into service in 1959? Thanks.

• #3 by Mark on May 8, 2012 - 6:05 PM

  

  Is it possible that the date could be as late as 1970? As the Black over Black Chevy either an Impala or Caprice in the lower left hand corner is a 1970 model year?

• #4 by chris r on May 8, 2012 - 9:58 AM

  

  You learn so much about the chicago fire department, just by reading the comments. It’s nice to have such knowledge still around to share with us younger firebuffs. Thanks for sharing, people like BILL POST! This is what makes CHICAGOAREAFIRE.COM such a good website and i usually learn something everytime on click on.

• #5 by mike McAuliffe on May 7, 2012 - 11:21 PM

  

  Is that the 1967 International 75-foot Snorkel (Snorkel 4) in the bottom right hand corner of the photo? It appears to be a large Snorkel with a canopy cab (jump seats) that is parked on the cross street to the fire.

  Just a guess on my part, but I believe the foreground is a photo of SS-2 using SS-1’s old rig. The Aurora Borealis light and the painted double bumper lead me to that conclusion. But again, it’s just a guess.

• #6 by Bill Post on April 27, 2012 - 12:36 AM

  

  Dan, that’s interesting information. Based on the two Snorkels working at the fire on Drexel, it would still seem to indicate the likelihood of the fire being in early 1967 as the Snorkel (marked as Snorkel 4) was still actually assigned to Snorkel 4 at the time and the International Harvester 40-foot Snorkel Squad was still assigned to either SS1 or SS2 at the time. Perhaps it was one of the fires that you had mentioned which occurred nearby on Drexel during the time period of 1964 through early 1967?
  In November of 1968, SS2 (to my understanding) was running without their Snorkel. Unless the fire had occured just before it was taken out of service, and SS1 had already been running with their new 1967 Mack/Pierce. The Snorkel that was marked as Snorkel 4 was no longer assigned to Snorkel 4 and I know that it was eventually reassigned to Snorkel 3, probably after they were relocated to Engine 60’s house in late 1969. It could have been being used as a spare rig at the time, however the fact that it still was numbered for Snorkel 4 gives me some doubts that it was in late 1968. Who knows, maybe they kept the 4 on that rig for over a year and half after Snorkel 4 was given a newer rig?

• #7 by Bill Post on April 27, 2012 - 12:09 AM

  

  Yes David, in December of 1968 Snorkel 4 had already been running with the 75 foot International Pierce with the “canopy cab” for about a year and a half. To my understanding it went into service sometime in July of 1967.
  When you say they took it out of service, do you mean the 1966/67 International Pierce with the canopy cab?
  The 1966 International Pierce was taken out of front-line service around late June or early July of 1974 when it was replaced by a 75 foot Oshkosh/Pierce (with a built in pump on board). They were running out of Engine Company 67’s old station by then which they were also sharing with Battalion 23 before the Battalions were renumbered.

• #8 by DMcInerney on April 26, 2012 - 4:35 PM

  

  My records indicate that on 1/28/67, there was a 4-11 from box 25160, at 1546 hrs for 4207 S. Drexel, a 4-story apartment building 75×100. On 11/15/68, a 2-11 from box 1115 at 1228 hrs for 4138-40 S. Drexel, a 7-story apartment building. My guess is the fire in the picture is the November fire based on time of day and the lack of snow/ice. From 1964-68, these are the only extra alarms that would coincide with the time of day and year for this address range. The 40-5000 block of S. Drexel averaged 2 extra alarm fires a year for the above mentioned time period.

• #9 by David on April 26, 2012 - 8:08 AM

  

  Wasn’t snorkel 4 running with the (then new) International with the canopy cab?! I think they already had the rig by 1968 for a year or two. By the way Bill, don’t you remember when did they take it out of service?

• #10 by Bill Post on April 25, 2012 - 10:17 PM

  

  I would like to point out that the top photo featuring the International Harvester Snorkel Squad (in the foreground) and Snorkel 4 (in the background) wasn’t taken in 1968. The fire was either in 1966 or possibly 1965, as neither of those rigs were in service with those companies in December of 1968. Snorkel 4 was no longer assigned the (1961 model) Ford/High Ranger in December of 1967 either. The Snorkel Squad apparatus was most likely assigned to Snorkel Squad 2, as the location of the fire was in their still district, however Snorkel Squad 1 could have taken in the 2-11 as all of the Snorkel Squads had run “city wide” on 2-11’s.

• #11 by Martin on April 21, 2012 - 11:56 AM

  

  Thanks Bill,
  I like seeing your collection and reading all the stories you provide to us. Once again thank you for sharing.

• #12 by David on April 21, 2012 - 4:26 AM

  

  Bill, thank you much for the exhaustive info, those were great rigs. By the way, anybody know if there will be any more articles from the CFD apparatus history series?! The photos were just terrific.

• #13 by Bill Post on April 20, 2012 - 10:32 AM

  

  David, the Chicago Fire Department had 5 High-Pressure (hose wagons with a turret) and three large light wagons that were put in service in 1956. All had the famous International cab over engine design cabs.

• #14 by Bill Post on April 20, 2012 - 10:26 AM

  

  Chicago had two International Harvester, Snorkel Squads with 40-foot Snorkels that were installed (along with a new “Squad type” body) from the Erhlinder Company in 1962/63. The cab and chassis were actually from 2 of the 5 International Harvester, High Pressure Wagons (hose wagons with a built-in turret) that the CFD had put in service in 1956.
  The first such unit was put in service in September of 1962 at 1044 N Orleans as Snorkel Squad 1 (SS1) and the second such unit went in service in September of 1963 at Engine 60 and Truck 37’s new quarters at 1155 E 55th Street (when they opened) as Snorkel Squad (SS2). Snorkel Squad 1’s rig was replaced by a new Mack/Pierce Snorkel Squad in April of 1968 while Snorkel Squad 2’s rig went out of service sometime during that year (for mechanical reasons) not to be replaced.
  For your information Snorkel Squad 3 was put in service on May 16, 1965 at 2858 W Fillmore using the original 1958 GMC/Pitman (Snorkel 1) that had been largely put together by the fire department shops. SS1’s quarters (Special Services) had previously belonged to the Chicago Fire Insurance Patrol (Patrol 5) which was acquired by the CFD after they were disbanded in 1959 while SS3’s quarters had belonged to Engine 66 and Squad 7. Engine 66 was relocated to Engine 44 and Squad 7 was disbanded when SS3 went in service.
  Chicago’s original Snorkel Squads were also 2-piece companies whose second pieces were smaller High Pressure Fog pumpers which featured two booster reels of narrow diameter hose and (gun type) high pressure fog nozzles that had handles on them that you would literally squeeze (like a trigger) to operate. The Fog pumpers were equipped with a (built-in) 300-gallon tank that they pumped off of. In 1965 they received newer fog pumpers that had longer bodies than the original Fog Pressures (as they were officially called) allowing more space for squad equipment.
  Snorkel Squad 3 stopped using their 1958 GMC/Pitman Snorkel in January 1967 after getting stuck in a snow drift during the blizzard of 1967. Even though the rig was saved, it never went back in-service and the Snorkel Squad ran without a Snorkel for almost 2 and a half years before being taken out of service in May of 1969. Snorkel Squad 2 had stopped running with their International Harvester Snorkel by mid-1968. Snorkel Squads 2 and 3 continued running as 2-piece companies for months using spare engines or former 1956 model high-pressure wagons as the second piece. Snorkel Squad 3 was even temporarily using a new GMC/Timco mini foam pumper as it’s second piece for a while.
  In September of 1967, Snorkel Squad 3 (the Snorkel less Snorkel Squad) was relocated to 2337 W Erie after Engine 105 was taken out of service there. That fire station had the unique situation of having a Snorkel Squad assigned to it without ever having a Snorkel quartered there.
  In February of 1969, Snorkel Squads 3 and 2 were officially re-designated as Rescues 2 and 3, however only 3 months later in May of 1969 they were both permanently taken out of service. At the time, they were the busiest units in the city with Snorkel Squad 3 having over 5,000 runs in 1968.
  Incidentally, in the 1968 Maatman report, (a consultant study that was done for the city in order to justify the city reducing hours for the fire fighters without having to hire more men), Snorkel Squad 1 was also recommended to be disbanded, however the late Fire Commissioner Robert J Quinn decided to keep SS1 in service and they survived until October 3rd 1980, when it was taken out of service from Engine 42’s current quarters after being in service for just over 18 years.
  Our current 3 Squad/Snorkel companies didn’t go into service until September 19, 1983, three years later.

• #15 by David on April 19, 2012 - 4:30 PM

  

  Not sure how many of these they had, but there were also a few other rigs on this IHC chassis back then like the hi-pressures and lightwagons, all purchased around 1957. Later in the mid 60s there was also a fuel truck on a longer 3-axle chassis with the same COE cab.
  Anyway great photos, hope there will be more.

• #16 by Martin on April 19, 2012 - 11:49 AM

  

  Nice International Snorkel, how many of these did Chicago have?

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