It’s been a while since our last article in The Color of Fire Trucks series. We are up to MABAS Division 11 this time with only one department to feature which previously ran with apparatus that was not red.
The Cicero Fire Department purchased several units in the 1970s and 1980s that were solid white. They had a Ford/Grove 100′ rear-mount aerial, a Ford/Darly top-mount engine, and a unique squad on a Ford F chassis with a light-weight ladder similar to those used by outdoor sign companies.
Cicero Truck 1 ran with this 1973 100′ rear-mounted Grove aerial ladder mounted on a Ford C-Series chassis. The body was built by American Fire Apparatus. Larry Shapiro photo
Shortly after being delivered to Cicero by the W.S. Darley Company in 1981, Engine 3 was photographed outside the station. Built on a Ford C-8000 chassis with a rear custom canopy cab with a top-mounted control panel, this engine had a 1,000-GPM pump and carried 500 gallons of water. Larry Shapiro photo
#1 by thefiremang on September 27, 2012 - 7:01 AM
Bill your right, the guys did wear paper bags over their heads, the rig was junk, rig would die out about 3 times before it would run out on a run, it was a complete disaster using that Kermit the Frog rig.
#2 by Bill Friedrich on September 26, 2012 - 12:24 PM
Cicero used the designation Engine 6 after they received the rig from Western Electric. Rumor has it when the guys drove the rig, they wore paper backs over their heads with eye cut outs to see. The good old days.
#3 by thefiremang on September 25, 2012 - 7:44 PM
Lime green was never assigned as Eng-4, it was a spare, also they are not out to bid a pumper yet
#4 by Grumpy grizzly on September 25, 2012 - 4:21 PM
Cicero Truck 1 was useless, OOS most of the time which is the reason they used that sign truck. Truck 2 was older than dirt, purchased a cab to replace the original unit, ladder was really old. I live in Cicero. In 1937 purchased a 1937 ALF 400 Series tractor to mate with an older trailer. 1952 a new 85′ aerial was purchased, in 1956 a new tractor, a 700 series, was purchased for the new aerial. When Western Electric closed WE donated their mini-pumper, it was lime green and was assigned to E-4. Cicero has improved its apparatus with an E-One 100′ tiller 2009 model @T-1 with an E-1 a 2008 E-1, a 2006 E-1 @ E-2, and a 1999 Pierce @ E-3 along with Tower 1 a 2006 E-1 95′ with a 1750 pump and a 300 gallon tank. Bids are out to replace the Pierce. A 1997 Seagrave is a spare. Most of the current info came from this site, the old time stuff is from Walt McCall’s history book
#5 by Mark on September 24, 2012 - 1:47 AM
Forest Park FD had a 1973 Lime Green Mack as E 401.