This from Steve Gutzmer:
David Lewis, curator of the aurora regional fire museum, posted this on his Facebook, thought it might be of interest with all the shots of old Evanston station 1 and the old rigs. http://archive.org/details/TheFireman
Steve Gutzmer
Aurora Fire Dept
#1 by Bill Post on November 6, 2015 - 9:25 AM
James ,the old fire station 1 is located at 909 W Lake street which is the northwest corner of Lake and Elmwood. It really is in the same large building complex as the Police Station on Elmwood but it is around the corner. The main reason why you can’t tell that it was a fire station is because a new brick wall was put in place on the Lake street ( Fire Station side) where the Fire Apparatus Bays were and windows and a door were put in. It is now the administrative offices of the fire department. The interior was of course had been gutted and rebulit. It is the same building however and if you look at the old photos of the building when it was a fire station you can make it out.
It is across the street of and just west of the Metra and EL tracks and is 2 streets north of Dempster and 2 streets south of Davis , 3 streets south of Church and 2 blocks west of Chicago avenue.
It was a beautiful and large fire station and when I had visited it in the 60’s and 70’s. It had a Engine, a Squad/Pumper, a Tillered Aerial Ladder Truck and a Large Yellow Amphibious Boat/Truck which probably had been military surplus at one time and was used for rescues in Lake Michigan. That was in addition to the various Chief “Buggies” and a service bay. When the Evanston Fire Department first started with their Paramedic/ Ambulance service both of their extra Large Van style Ambulances had been located their also for a while. The station was centrally located and only a block or 2 from the downtown area.
I”ll admit that it was let down when I found out that the station was closed and replaced with a smaller 3 bay house which is just under a mile northwest of downtown Evanston.
#2 by Bill lapworth on November 6, 2015 - 1:59 PM
This was shown in schools in the early 50’s. My father was in the movie as the engineer on the pumper. He served 30 years.
My daughter stumbled across this a year ago, and you can imagine my shocked of not recalling seeing this in the second grade but also recognizing my Dad. Cool to share this with my daughters and showing my grandchildren their great grandfather on the job.
#3 by Crabby Milton on November 6, 2015 - 8:52 AM
If you are talking about the station featured in the film, I thought that I read that it’s still standing and it was converted to the administration building or some such thing.
#4 by James Beecher on November 6, 2015 - 12:32 AM
Where is old station 1? I heard it was still there but empty? I’ve looked at 7 or 8 pages including the EFD’s history page but apparently the station’s location is a national secret
#5 by Bill Lapworth on March 27, 2014 - 4:09 PM
My daughter discovered this, while seeking information on my dad, who was with the department from 1946-1976. this movie was shown in the schools and I saw it while in 3rd grade at Oakton school. The chief showing the film asked if anyone knew any of the firemen, I quickly said my father, who was the engineer on engine 5/25. revisiting this 60 years later was a treasure for me and my family. i was familiar with many of the names on the roster, and appreciate the history provided.
#6 by Mike B on August 13, 2013 - 9:35 PM
My father and uncle both worked at that station in ’54. It sure brought back great memories of visiting him there when I was a young child. I always got a kick out of that pole and those great big red trucks. Thanks
#7 by Tim Gobat on July 24, 2013 - 11:57 AM
Hey Phil!
Please leave contact information for you via personal message on the Evanston Fire Department FB Page… I would love to talk with you about the history of the department!
Thanks,
Tim Gobat
Evanston FF/PM
Engine Co 24, 3rd Platoon (Red)
#8 by Tim Gobat on July 24, 2013 - 11:55 AM
Hey Mike Mc… William Craig and George Stiles died prior to the Establishment of Evanston Firefighters Local 742. That is why they are not listed. They also are not on the Wall in Colorado Springs at the IAFF Fallen Firefighter. I am working on trying to change that.
Hope this helps!
Tim
#9 by Phil Stenholm on July 24, 2013 - 11:37 AM
Here are the 88 members of the Evanston Fire Department in 1954. Note that the names “Dave Briggs” and “Captain Drake” used in the film are bogus.
CHIEF:
Henry Dorband
ASSISTANT CHIEF:
James Geishecker – T21
Michael Garrity – T22
William Murphy – FPB
NOTE: Chief Geishecker and Chief Garrity worked opposite platoons, and were both a truck company officer and platoon commander. Assistant Chiefs were relieved of company officer responsibilities in 1955.
CAPTAiN (COMPANY OFFICER):
Edward C. Fahrbach – E23
James Mersch Sr. – E25
Ronald Ford – E22
Lester Breitzman – E24
Ervin Lindeman – E21
LIEUTENANT (ASSISTANT COMPANY OFFICER):
Herbert Claussen – E24
Leonard Bach – E23
George Jasper – E22
George Hofstetter – T21
Willard Thiel – E21
Harry Schaeffer Jr. – T22
Richard Schumacher – E25
MECHANIC:
Francis Hofstetter
Edward Burczak
FIREFIGHTERS:
Charles Bammesberger
Arthur Windelborn
Raymond Branstrom
Roy Decker
Nicholas Jung
Victor Majewski
Harry Meginiss
Hjalmar Okerwall
Louis Peters
Edward Downey
George M. Harrison
John Steinbuck
William Windelborn
Arnold Windle
John Boho
George Beattie
Stanley Broslovik
John Croll
Harold Dorband
Henry Harloff
William Lapworth
Daniel Lorden
David Tesnow
James Wheeler
Ernest Bouchard
George Croll
Richard Hennessey
Lawrence Oldeen
Joseph Schumer
John Becker
James Burns
Leonard Driskell
Thomas Hanson
Edwin Lyyjoki
Edwin Majkowski
George Neuhaus
Richard Ruley
Clarence Wahle
Theodore Bierchen
William Best
Robert Brandt
Edward Frake
Sanders Hicks
Albert Laschinski
Frederick McGowan
William Moore
Arthur Schroeder
Donald Sherrie
George Strom
William Wayne
Ernest Bongratz
Bernard Burczak
Benito Ghiselli
Robert Godeman
George H. Harrison
Weyman King
Kenneth Perysian
Joseph Planos
James Whalen
William Currie
Harry Harloff
Kenneth Holmes
Robert Johnson
James Loizzo
Norman Peterson
Joseph Thill
Chester Wheeler
Harold Cowell
Thomas Kostopoulos
Robert Schumer
#10 by Mike Mc on July 16, 2013 - 3:59 PM
Phil: Thanks for all the historical information on the Evanston Fire Department. I was hoping you could answer or clarlify I question I have. The Evanston FF Local 42 website lists three LODD’s in the history of Evanston: FF Marty Leoni in 1985 and FF’s Craing and Styles on December 13, 1905. The Illinois Fire Service Institute only lists FF Leoni. Is this just an over sight or is there more to the story?
Thanks for your time.
#11 by Mike Lopina on July 16, 2013 - 1:30 PM
Jim- They currently run 2 full time (Amb 21 & 22) while Amb 23 runs as a jump company with the crew from Eng 23 or Trk 23 on 3rd calls only. HOWEVER…. Due to it currently being a young department, manning each day has allowed Amb 23 to be in service on a fairly regular basis as a stand alone ambulance (no jumping) but that is day to day.
On a side note, there has been a push to try to run the Squad full time and make it the 3rd ambo jump company but that is still just a plan on paper so far.
#12 by Mike Lopina on July 16, 2013 - 8:35 AM
Thanks again, Paul. I’m sure I heard your voice over the radio back then. Are any of your books published? I have found a lot of nostalgia on the Evanston FD & Evanston Engine 24 Facebook pages. I find it interesting that the department has undergone a huge turnover in the last 10 years. You can trace the 25-30 year cycle of a large hiring.. Post WWII; 1970-75 & 2000-2005. On a plus side to that, with so many new personnel, they have been running Amb 23 as a stand alone ambulance on many days rather than jumping from the engine or truck.
As for the jump companies, I remember a few fires that got out of hand because all 3 jump engines were OOS while the ambulances were on runs. Trk 22 pulled up on a fire around Asbury & Main and had to wait for Eng 23 to be 1st in due to Eng 24 going 1st responder for Amb 25. Not good.
I was just up there last weekend and took pics of Old Stations 2, 3 & 1 for this site but they have not yet been posted. Do you have any info on the rigs that were in those houses (organization dates, rig manufacturer/year, etc)? I would love to see that info. Station 22 has their company organization dates on their park benches (Engine 22 1892; Trk 22 1903 & Amb 22 1977). Very cool. Thanks again!
#13 by Jim on July 15, 2013 - 11:56 PM
How many ambulances do they currently run?
#14 by Phil Stenholm on July 15, 2013 - 8:27 PM
Mike L: I was an Evanston Police/Fire Communications Operator for six years in the 1980’s, and I wrote a couple of books on the history of the Evanston Fire Dept.
Your dad was one of the first 12 Paramedics in the Evanston Fire Dept. back in 1975-76:
As for Fire Station #4…
Did you know that when Fire Station #4 was originally proposed in 1924, that it was supposed to be built as a engine/truck house at Dempster & Dodge, housing Engine Co. 4 & Truck Co. 2? Engine Co. 4 would be organized as the EFD’s 4th engine company and would have a still district extending from Howard Street to Emerson Street west of Asbury Avenue, and Truck Co. 2 (which operated with a 1917 Seagrave city service truck at that time, while Truck Co. 1 had a 1924 Seagrave 85-ft TDA) would relocate to the new Station #4 from Station #1 and provide truck coverage west of Asbury from Howard Street (Chicago border) to Isabella Street (Wilmette border).
But when Engine Co. 4 was organized in November 1927 (same day as Engine Co. 5, in the aftermath of the Boltwood School fire earlier that year), its new firehouse was located a half-mile south of Dempster Street at 1817 Washington Street (with its still district extending only as far north as Dempster Street), with Truck Co. 2 remaining at Fire Station #1 (located at the northwest corner of Grove & Sherman at that time) with Truck Co. 1, even though Truck Co. 2’s first-due area was everything west of Asbury Ave. Both trucks were located at Station #1 for 31 years (1924-55), with Truck Co. 1 first-due east of Asbury, and Truck Co. 2 first-due west of Asbury.
As for the Rand Report:
The “Fire Department Modernization Plan” proposed by Chief Henry Dorband (who you saw in the 1954 film) and approved by Evanston voters in 1951 and 1953 led to the purchase of a flotilla of apparatus from Pirsch (the two TDAs, two pumpers, and the pumper-squad you saw parked inside Fire Station #1 in the film), expansion of the fire-fighting force from 88 to 100, acquisition of radios (ergo Engine 1 became Engine 21, Truck 1 became Truck 21, et al, to help avoid confusion with other fire departments sharing the radio frequency), and construction of three new fire stations (rebuilt/relocated Station #2 with space for a TDA, rebuil/relocated Station #3, and the brand-new Station #5, each completed in 1955).
With the completion of the rebuilt Fire Station #2 (built as a “headquarters” station around the corner from the old Station #2), the relocated Fire Station #3 (built as a one-story three-bay firehouse 3/4-mile to the east of the old two-story two-bay Station #3 at 2504 Green Bay Road), and the new Fire Station #5 at 2830 Central Street in northwest Evanston, the EFD had (at last) essentially met the recommendations offered by the National Board of Fire Underwriters back during the Great Depression in 1935 (although the NBFU had recommended that Station #5 be built at a different location further south than where it ended up).
As of September 1955, all insured structures within the corporate city limits of Evanston were within 1-1/2 miles of a fire station (and engine company). The five stations served Evanston well for many years, but in 1984 City Council staff floated a plan to replace the city’s five fire stations with three new ones.
The idea was to consolidate the ambulance crews, engine companies, and truck companies (with at least eight fire fighters and/or paramedics at each station), to provide more manpower for “first responders” arriving at the scene of a fire or medical emergency, and to improve response times to areas of the city that incurred the most incidents.
The Rand Corporation was hired in 1986 to conduct an analysis of the Evanston Fire Department’s response times, and Rand determined that the EFD’s “average” response time would indeed be somewhat decreased if the five existing fire stations were to be replaced by three new stations to be located up & down the “central spine” of Evanston (one to be built at Willard D. Kamen Park at Asbury & South Boulevard in South Evanston, another to be located on vacant land at Lake & Ashland in central-west Evanston, and a third to be constructed on the site of the abandoned Municipal Testing Lane at Noyes & Ashland in north-central Evanston), although it admitted that response times would actually increase in certain areas of the city, but that these areas (in northwest Evanston) incurred a much lower number of calls for service and so therefore longer response times occasionally to that area of the city would have minimal statistical effect on overall average response times. (Tell that to someone with a fire or medical emergency at 3500 Hillside Road!).
Political opposition torpedoed the proposed station in South Evanston (where residents did not want to lose park land), as well as the one in North Evanston (where residents in the “High Ridge” area of northwest Evanston did not wish to suffer a minimum 5-1/2-to-six minute response time to fire and medical emergencies in their neighborhood, which was sure to be the case if the closest fire station was located at Noyes & Ashland instead of 2830 Central Street).
Instead, the City Council agreed to rebuild the city’s oldest firehouse (Station #4 at 1817 Washington Street), and tabled any further discussion of building new fire stations.
The new Station # 4 was rebuilt on the site of the original Fire Station #4 during 1989, at a cost of $643,000. Although rebuilding Fire Station # 4 was not recommended by the Rand Corporation, two of the study’s other recommendations were implemented.
First, a third ALS ambulance was placed into front-line service at Station #5 in 1989 (although it only occurred as part of the controversial “jump company” plan devised by Chief James Brooks, where Engine Co. 21, Engine Co. 22, and Engine Co. 25 would each operate as a four-man “two-piece company” and “jump” to their ambulance when responding to EMS calls, with Engine Co. 23 and Engine Co. 24 not responding to EMS calls at all), and then after the “jump” plan was junked, Truck Co. 21 was relocated from Station #1 to Station # 3 in 1990 (becoming the reborn “Truck Co. 23,” a company which had been in service at Station #3 1955-62, back when the EFD briefly ran with three truck companies).
With a rebuilt firehouse in service in southwest Evanston, and Truck Co. 21 relocated to Station # 3, Fire Chief James Hunt (Chief Brooks’ successor) proposed in March 1993 that Fire Station #1 be rebuilt as a three-bay firehouse (housing just an engine company, an ambulance, and the Shift Commander) on a vacant lot (one-time site of a gas station) at the southeast corner of Emerson & Wesley, and that the existing six-bay mega-Station #1 at 909 Lake Street be converted into a “headquarters” facility (housing the Fire Prevention Bureau, training classrooms, administrative offices, and equipment storage).
The plan was readily accepted by the City Council (which was looking for ways to improve response times to the 5th Ward), but the new Station #1 (at 1332 Emerson Street) was not completed for almost five years (February 1998), after unexpectedly high construction costs nearly doubled the project’s price-tag (from $1.2 to $2.2 million). Plans to convert the former Fire Station #1 to the Fire Department’s new “headquarters” also met similar delays, so the EFD’s administrative offices were located in a cramped second-floor office in leased commercial space on Dodge Avenue for several years before eventually moving back into the remodeled ex-fire station on Lake Street.
Fire Station #2 (the former headquarters station) was not rebuilt but it did undergo a major interior renovation about 20 years ago, and then Station #3 and Station #5 were completely rebuilt on their previous sites (Station #3 in 2004 and Station #5 in 2010), with Station #5 expanded from a former two-bay firehouse to a new three-bay facility.
Other than the changes involved with the implementation of the Paramedic Program & ambulance service in 1976, the Evanston Fire Department’s deployment strategy (five engines and two trucks running out of five fire stations) is exactly the same today as it was in 1955.
#15 by Mike Lopina on July 15, 2013 - 7:54 PM
Phil- One more thing as I think about the spare Seagrave @ Eng 25 back then. It may have been in one of the convertable/open cab Seagraves they had that was being used as a spare. I don’t remember if Eng 23 & 24 still had those before they got the Hendrickson/Howes. Maybe you could shed some light on that for me. Thanks!
#16 by Mike Lopina on July 15, 2013 - 5:55 PM
Phil- Awesome info. Were you on the job? I did not know about the original location for Eng 25 being Grant & Bennett. I knew they were a 2nd engine for downtown until they were moved. I was born & raised in Evanston and my dad was on the job there so I have a great fondness for Evanston & all things EFD. I knew the location was ficticious but couldn’t figure it out. As far as Eng 25 using the Seagrave before the MB came, that would make sense it was a spare at that point. He was detailed there for a few shifts and I only visited once or twice in a short period. He spent most of his time on Truck 21 & the Squad before he became one of the first medics. Then it was Ambulance duty for the majority of the time unless there were enough medics working and he caught a detail out of another house. I just came across a picture of him on Squad 21 working the first Rust Oleum fire in 1976.
I was also just talking to someone about the newly remodeled Station 4 and we both agreed they should never have torn down the 1927 firehouse. Do you remember in the late 80’s when they were talking about shutting down 23 & 25 and disbanding Eng 25 and moving Truck 21 to a new firehouse at Ashland/Noyes/Green Bay near the old quonset hut safety lane place? What a joke that was. Glad it never panned out. That idea was floated by the same chief that had them running the less than stellar jump company program. Good stuff! Thanks so much for your sharing knowledge on EFD.
#17 by Phil Stenholm on July 14, 2013 - 12:47 PM
MIKE L: The “house on fire” in the film was located on the south side of Isabella Street west of Green Bay Road (where Dominick’s parking lot is now located), so obviously the film’s director and/or editor took some liberties with Evanston’s geography while depicting the EFD’s response to the “fire” from Station #1. (The house was probably scheduled to be torn-down, making it a perfect choice for a staged house fire).
Also, in 1954 there were five almost brand-new Pirsch rigs (purchaed for a total cost of $160,000 after Evanston voters approved a bond issue in April 1951) in service at Evanston Fire Station #1: two 85-ft TDA (Truck 21 & Truck 22), one 1952 1000/80 TCP (Engine 21), one 1952 1000/100 TCP (Engine 25), and one 1000/100 pumper-squad (Squad 21). You can see them all lined-up inside Station #1 at the beginning of the film, with Truck 21 in the furthest west of the five apparatus bays. (There were actually six bays at Station #1, but one was used as the Repair Bay).
The inhalator used to “revive” the firefighter during the drill in front of Station #1 was from Squad 21, which responded to inhalatoir calls city-wide at that time. (Inhalators were not assigned to the five engine companies until 1959, and the EFD did not implement ambulance service until 1976).
Evanston voters passed another bond issue (this one for $775,000) in April 1953 that allowed the city to build three new fire stations. Truck 22 was moved from Station #1 to the new Station #2 at 702 Madison Street when it opened in March 1955 (the old Station #2 at 750 Chicago Ave–which is now a restaurant–did not have room for a TDA, so both truck companies were assigned to Station #1 1924-55), and Engine 25 (which was orginally placed into service at Station #1 in 1927 as the downtown “high value” district engine company) moved to Fire Station #5 at 2830 Central Street in September 1955. (Engine Co, 23 initially occupied Station #5 when it opened in January 1955 up until when the new Station #3 was opened at 1105 Central Street in September, because the old Station #3 at 2504 Green Bay Road–built for horse-drawn apparatus in 1901 and now a photographer’s studio–was summararily closed due to apparatus floor issues as soon as Station #5 was ready to be occupied, thus keeping Engine Co. 25 at Station #1 for most of 1955).
BTW, Station #5 was originally supposed to be built as a sort of unobstrusive one-bay “residential-style” firehouse on a city-owned lot at Grant & Bennett (adjacent to Perkins Woods), but objections from the Lincolnwood School PTA (which did not want a fire station to be built next-door to the school) put a kibosh on that plan, and so the city ended up purchasing a rather expensive lot and constructed the station in a commercial district a half-mile further north at 2830 Central Street instead.
The problem with locating Station #5 on Central Street instead of on Grant Street was that Engine 25’s still district was supposed to include the area north of Church Street and west of the C&NW Mayfair Division tracks, but moving it north to Central Street meant Engine Co. 25 would be 1-3/4 miles from Church & Dodge, resulting in the south boundary of Engine Co. 25’s first-due area (still district) to be moved up to Emerson Street.
The Seagrave rig at Station #5 you probably remember from when you were young must have been a reserve rig (Engine Co. 25 ran with a Pirsch rig through 1976). There was a 1949 Seagrave 1000-GPM TCP (Engine 1 1949-52 and then Engine 22 1952-66) that was placed into reserve at Station #5 in 1966. There was also a 1927 Seagrave Standard 1000/50 TCP (which you can now find at Firemen’s Park at Simpson & Maple) in reserve at Station #5 1955-64.
The staffing at Station #1 in 1954 would normally have been four men per company, plus a buggy driver for the Fire Chief or on-duty Platoon Commander (Assistant Chief). If five or more men were riding on any of the rigs in the movie, it was probably because more guys wanted to be in the movie.
“Fireman Briggs” and “Captain Drake” (two of the three names mentioned in the film) were bogus, although Henry Dorband was the Chief Fire Marshal at the time. (I think thety gave him a different first-name in the film, though).
Also, the location given when the alarm was dispatched (“3rd & Main”) was obviously a fake, too.
#18 by Mike L on June 14, 2013 - 10:21 AM
Just to confirm some of the EFD info/trivia. They ran 5 engs & 2 trks in 1954. Eng 25’s house on Central opened in 1954 along with Eng 23’s house on Central so that would make sense for Eng 25 to be running out of Station 1. Eng 23 was still on Green Bay. And they were on the 2 platoon system and ran minimum of 5 to a rig. Still trying to figure out where the mock fire was. The rigs went north on Asbury to what looked like Church but I’m still not sure where they ended up.
Now I’m on a mission to find where that was shot. LOL
That is all.
#19 by Mike L on June 14, 2013 - 9:43 AM
Awesome video! Thanks, Dave & Steve, for sharing. I saw this video when I was in preschool. My dad (EFD retired) brought it in to show my class. I have to get with him to see if he worked with any of the guys in the video. I believe in 1954 EFD was still had 2 platoons so a 5 man engine & truck was not out of the question as I believe they had 85-90 guys on the job.
The 2nd engine running out of Station 1 was the Seagrave Eng 25 (The hose is marked 25). This would make sense as their Station on Central was being built right around this time. The northside firehouse was Engine 23 at Green Bay & Harrison (now a Sherwin Williams paint store). That Seagrave Engine 25 they had was still in service when my dad was hired and was replaced by the Mack MB. I remember sitting on that engine when he was at Eng 25. Eng 23 & 24 also had Seagraves until replaced by the Hendrickson/Howe engines painted yellow (both repainted red in later years).
Truck 21 in the video was the spare when I was a kid. The 2nd tiller in Station 1 was the spare at the time and would have been their 1st metal ladder as that replaced the 1921 Seagrave with the 85′ wooden main.
I would like to know where the “fire” building was. The video shows them going west on Lake St to Asbury & going north but not sure where the final location was.
Thanks for the memories!
#20 by Bill Post on June 13, 2013 - 9:10 PM
One of the great things is that Evanston still use’s tillered aerials for their two truck companies.
During the 80’s they were using a Seagrave rear mounted, low profile aerial in a quint configuration as Truck 1, but they replaced it with a tillered aerial in 1991.
In the video, you’ll notice that the truck and at least one of the engines were running with five men at the time. Nowadays most suburban Chicago area fire departments don’t even run with four-man companies. There may be some exceptions, but they would be few and far between.
The clip was from 1954. The old fire station 1 in the clip is no longer a fire station, but still is the fire department headquarters. Sometimes during the day, several Evanston fire companies can be parked outside the building on Lake Street. That station was not more then two blocks from downtown Evanston. The inside was gutted and made into offices.
I really don’t know what that second engine at the fire station in the video was supposed to be, as to my knowledge Evanston had five stations with an engine in each. In those days, there were two truck companies, one at Station 2 and the other at Station 1. Perhaps one of the stations wasn’t opened yet?
Two years after the film was made Evanston, put a squad company in service which was an open-body type of squad with a a turret and some small diameter hose on it.
#21 by Crabbymilton on June 13, 2013 - 6:56 AM
Thank You for posting that. I live in Milwaukee and there were many PIRSCH apparatus of that design around here too. You can’t help wonder while viewing that film is how many of those guys are still with us and what are they doing now.
#22 by tom sullivan on June 12, 2013 - 3:12 PM
that was classic stuff ! great views of riding a tiller truck !
#23 by Keith Grzadziel on June 12, 2013 - 1:30 PM
Excellent video! It would be great if more videos from this era cold be posted here! Brings back memories seeing the old Pirsch’s!