Historic fire: Goldblatt’s fire in Mt Prospect, 1977 (pt1)

This from Drew Smith:

These are from the Goldblatt’s fire at Central and Rand Roads in Mount Prospect on Sunday, February 6, 1977 ( think I said it was 1976 in the earlier comment) and shows both Glenbrook’s and MP’s Snorkels in operation. The GB Snorkel is before they sent it to Pierce for the new cab and chassis with it’s yellow paint.

Thought I had a picture of Rolling Meadow’s Snorkel at the race track but can’t find it.

Just came across this page which shows a ¾ shot of RM and Libertyville snorkels. http://yngfire.com/index.php?topic=2952.0

Drew Smith

Deputy Chief

Prospect Heights Fire Protection District

Drew Smith archives

Larry Shapiro submitted images of the Snorkel units mentioned.

Glenbrook FPD 1968 Ford/Pierce 75′ Snorkel before the rehab. Larry Shapiro photo

Glenbrook Snorkel 8 received an enclosed Pierce Arrow cab and new paint scheme in 1986. Larry Shapiro photo

Mount Prospect Truck 2 was a 1964 American LaFrance 900 Series 90′ Aero Chief Snorkel with a 1,000-GPM pump. Larry Shapiro photo

Rolling Meadows 1970 American LaFrance 90′ 1000 Series Aero Chief Snorkel 630 had a 1,000-GPM pump. Larry Shapiro photo

Tags: 65' Snorkel, American LaFrance 1000 Series Aero Chief 90, American LaFrance 900 Series Aero Chief 90, American LaFrance Aero Chief Snorkel, Deputy Chief Drew Smith, Ford/Pierce/Snorkel, Glenbrook Fire Department, Glenbrook Fire Protection District, Glenview Rural Fire Protection District, Goldblatts fire in 1977, historic fire photos, Pierce Arrow Snorkel, Rolling Meadows Fire Department

This entry was posted on March 21, 2013, 7:43 AM and is filed under Apparatus on-scene, Fire, Fire Department History, Historic fire apparatus, Historic Fire Photo. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

8 Comments

#1 by Bill Post on April 7, 2013 - 9:45 AM

I do remember that in those days what is now Glenview station 8 ran with the Snorkel however I was wondering did it run as a dedicated Truck company for the Glenbrook fire protection district or was it only a “jump company”?
#2 by Mike Barton on April 6, 2013 - 3:26 AM

I have about a half-dozen images taken at the 1977 Goldblatt’s fire if you’d like to post them with this article. Also, one of my pictures of RM Snorkel 630 appears on the Radioman 911 Facebook page.
- #3 by Admin on April 6, 2013 - 9:53 PM
  
  Yes Mike, we would like to share them with the readers of this blog. We always welcome submissions and are looking forward to seeing your photos.
#4 by ENG 17 on April 3, 2013 - 10:10 AM

You’re right Scott, they are still out there, and crystals are still avaialable, just not as commonplace as they once were.
#5 by Scott on April 3, 2013 - 9:32 AM

Still have two crystal scanners that work great! A regency & a bearcat! Amazing how well VHF still works…. 🙂
#6 by ENG 17 on April 3, 2013 - 8:09 AM

Bob, what Steve is referring to is in the old days, before the advent of the programable scanner, you had to buy the individual frequency crystal or “chip” if you will, and install it in the actual scanner. Radio Shack was one place that would carry these. You used a frequency book, looked up the frequency you wanted and purchased that crystal, usually three or four bucks as I reacall. Old Motorola radios used a similar crystal for programing. The introduction of the programable scanner pretty much spelled the end for the crystal scanner…
#7 by Bob on March 31, 2013 - 12:13 PM

Crystal????
#8 by Steve Redick on March 21, 2013 - 1:06 PM

I remember that fire very well..we had just bought a regency crystal scanner and just put in the MABAS crystal..I have some photos also I will try and dig up..I remember this was a massive fire and I couldn’t believe how far it advanced for the time of day it ocurred.