This from Phil Stenholm:

Evanston Fire Department – The Origin of the Companies

ENGINE Co. 21
Organized as a part-time (paid) fire company – July 28, 1883
Accepted for service – November 6, 1883
Established as a full-time (paid) company – June 5, 1888
Designated “Engine Co. 1” – June 1895
Re-designated “Engine Co. 21”- 1952

ENGINE Co. 22
Organized as full-time (paid) hose company at Station #2 – June 6, 1892
Designated “Hose Co. 2” – January 1900
Re-designated “Truck Co. 2” – February 15, 1903
Re-designated “Engine Co. 2” – February 15, 1911
Re-designated “Engine Co. 22” – 1952

ENGINE Co. 23
Organized as “Hose Co. 3” at Station #3 – January 31, 1901
Re-designated “Truck Co. 3” – July 1907
Re-designated “Engine Co. 3” – January 2, 1912
Re-designated “Engine Co. 23” – 1952

TRUCK Co. 21
Organized as ”Truck Co. 1” at Station #1 – February 15, 1903
Combined with Engine Co. 1 – January 2, 1912 Reorganized as “Truck Co. 1” – November 1917
Re-designated “Truck Co. 21” – 1952
Relocated to Station #3 and re-designated “Truck Co. 23” – 1990

TRUCK Co. 22
Organized as “Truck Co. 2” at Station #1 – September 1, 1924
Re-designated “Truck Co. 22” – 1952
Relocated to Fire Station #2 – March 12, 1955

ENGINE Co. 24
Organized as “Engine Co. 4” at Station #2 – November 1927
Relocated to Station # 4 – December 31, 1927
Re-designated “Engine Co. 24” – 1952

ENGINE Co. 25
Organized as “Engine Co. 5” at Station #1 – November 1927
Re-designated “Engine Co. 25” – 1952
Relocated to Station # 5 – September 3, 1955

TRUCK Co. 23
Organized as “Truck Co. 23” at Station #3 – September 3, 1955
Disbanded (personnel used to organize Squad Co. 21) – January 1, 1963
Truck Co. 21 relocated to Station #3/re-designated “Truck Co. 23” – 1990

SQUAD Co. 21
Apparatus placed in service (staffed only when needed) – September 1952
Organized as “Squad Co. 21” at Station #1 – January 1, 1963
Disbanded (apparatus staffed only when needed) – 1977

OTHER FIRE COMPANIES THAT SERVED EVANSTON

PIONEER FIRE COMPANY (volunteer)
Organized – January 4, 1873
Chartered – January 6, 1873
Accepted for service – January 7, 1873 Designated “Pioneer Hose Company, No. 1” – December 1874
Disbanded (by mass resignation) – May 23, 1881

C. J. GILBERT HOSE COMPANY (volunteer) Organzied/Chartered – January 1875
Accepted for Service – August 6, 1875
Disbanded (by mass resignation) – May 23, 1881

EVANSTON HOOK & LADDER COMPANY (volunteer) Organized/Chartered – September 7, 1880
Accepted for Service – April 21, 1881
Disbanded (by Fire Marshal) – July 28, 1883

SOUTH EVANSTON FIRE COMPANY (volunteer)
Orrganized – July 16, 1888
Disbanded (by Fire Marshal) – June 6, 1892
(Served with Village of South Evanston Fire Department prior to annexation of Village of South Evanston by Village of Evanston in 1892)

NORTH EVANSTON FIRE COMPANY (volunteer/auxiliary) Organized – October 1, 1888
Disbanded (by Fire Marshal) – January 31, 1901

So Truck Co. 22 (as it presently exists) was not actually organized until 1924. What is confusing about the bench is that Hose Co. 2 was re-designated Truck Co. 2 1902-1911 because the company operated with a 1902 Seagrave combination truck (light-duty H&L/chemical-engine/hose wagon) during that period of time, and then Truck Co. 2 was re-designated Engine Co. 2 in 1911 when the 1895 Ahrens steamer (the old Engine 1 that had been in reserve since 1906) was placed into service at Station #2 when sufficient manpower was finally hired to staff it.

Likewise, Hose Co. 3 was re-designated Truck Co. 3 in 1907 when the 1884 Davenport H&L (ex-Truck 1) was placed into service at Station #3, and then the company was re-deginated Engine Co. 3 in 1912 when the 1895 Ahrens steamer was placed into service at Station #3 (as the 1911 Robinson 700-GPM TCP was placed into service with Engine Co. 1 and the 1906 American LaFrance 700 GPM steamer formerly in service with Engine Co. 1 was moved to Station #2).

1912 APPARATUS:

STATION #1 (807 Grove Street):

ENGINE 1 : 1911 Robinson 700-GPM TCP (automobile)
TRUCK 1: 1907 American-LaFrance 85-ft HDA (four horses)
CHEMICAL 1: 1873 Babcock double 50-gal chemical-engine (two horses)
CHIEF’S BUGGY (two horses)

STATION #2 (750 Chicago Avenue):

ENGINE 2: 1906 American LaFrance 700 GPM steamer (three horses)
TRUCK 2: 1902 Seagrave combination truck (H&L and chemical-engine), with hose box installed in 1907 (two horses)

STATION #3 (2504 West Railroad Avenue):

ENGINE 3: 1895 Ahrens 600 GPM steamer (two horses)
TRUCK 3 : 1884 Davenport H&L, with hose box installed in 1907 (two horses)

(The hose wagons at Stations 2 & 3 were taken out of service in 1907 when the trucks at those stations had hose boxes installed, providing four horses for the new aerial-ladder truck).

1918 APPARATUS (after motorization):

STATION #1:

ENGINE Co. 1:
ENGINE 1: 1917 Seagrave 750 GPM TCP

TRUCK Co. 1:
TRUCK 1: 1917 Seagrave city-service H&L (no aerial-ladder)

ENGINE 4 (reserve): 1911 Robinson 750-GPM TCP

CHIEF’s BUGGY:
1917 Haynes automobile

ENGINE Co. 2 (two-piece company):
ENGINE 2: 1918 Seagrave tractor pulling 1906 American LaFrance 700 GPM steamer
TRUCK 2: 1917 Seagrave 300-GPM TCP

ENGINE 3: 1917 Seagrave 300-GPM TCP
NOTE: The 1907 American LaFrance 85-ft HDA that had been in service as Truck 1 was demolished in a collision with an Evanston Railway Co. street car at Grove & Sherman in 1916, and it was not replaced (the city had neglected to insure it for its replacement value). When the bond issue to motorize the Fire Dept. was originally framed in 1916 (prior to the H&L crash), the EFD was going to acquire a tractor for the H&L (justr as it did for 1906 American LaFrance steamer), but ended up getting a city-service truck (with no aerial ladder) instead.

The city purchased a Seagrave 85-ft TDA in 1924 after an NBFU inspection report said they had to have one. (This was the same report that recommended Station #4 be constructed at Dempster & Dodge).

The new Seagrave TDA became Truck 1, and the former Truck 1 (the 1917 Seagrave city-service truck) became Truck 2 as Truck Co. 2 was organized at Station #1 in September 1924. As I mentioned, Truck Co. 2 was supposed to be relocated to Station #4 on the west-side, but it never was.

NOTE: Two 1927 Seagrave Standard 1000-GPM TCP were purchased, Fire Station #4 was constructed, and the EFD was expanded from 61 to 82 firemen, after Evanston voters approved a bond issue in 1927 (following the Boltwood School fire in January) and the two new engines went into service as Engine 2 and Engine 5 (as Engine Co. 4 and Engine Co. 5 were organized), with Engine Co. 2’s former apparatus (plus furtniture, kitchen utensils, and personnel) going to the new Station #4.

Engine 4 (the tractorized steamer that was Engine 2 1918-27) was taken out of service in 1930 when the 300-GPM booster-pumper that ran with the steamer had a new 500-GPM pump installed at the Seagrave factory in Ohio.

Two Seagrave 750-GPM pumpers (the new Engine 1 & Engine 3) and one Seagrave 65-ft service aerial-ladder truck (the new Truck 2) were purchased after 1937 bond issue was passed by Evanston voters, with the old Engine 1 (1917 Seagrave 750-GPM TCP) going to Station #4 at that time.

A Seagrave 1000-GPM TCP was placed into service as Engine 1 in 1949, with the old Engine 1 (1937 Seagrave 750-GPM TCP) going to Station #4.

And then the Pirsch fleet was acquired in 1951-52 (Truck 1 in ’51, the other four in ’52), with the old Truck 1 tractor being converted to a Chicago FD-style high-pressure wagon (with large-diameter hose and a turret nozzle mounted mid-ship). This rig was known as Squad 22 while it was in service (1952-65).

The 1937 Seagrave 65-ft service aerial ladder truck (ex-Truck 2) was placed into serice as Truck 23 in 1955, but the company was disbanded and personnel was transferred to Squad 21 (which then went into full-service as a regular company) at the end of 1962 after the city council refused to appropriate funds to buy a new ladder truck for Station #3.

Two Seagrave 1000-GPM TCP open-cab engines (Engine 23 and Engine 24) were placed into service in 1958, replacing the two 1937 Seagrave 750-GPM TCPs which were then placed into reserve.

The Squad 21 rig (1952 Pirsch) was replaced in 1966. The city purchased an extra International-Harvester garbage truck chassis for the Fire Dept, and the chassis was sent to the General Body Co. in Chicago to be built as a squad-engine. A pump, water tank, and squad body was installed with hose beds (there were no hose beds on the ’52 Pirsch squad), as well as a turret nozzle, and a front-bumper mounted winch.

Squad 21 was the SS1 of the Evanston Fire Dept while it was in service in 1960’s and 70’s. It was first-due on just about everything, handling inhalator calls, car fires and trash fires, and engine details in Station 1’s still district, it went to all fires anywhere in the city, responded to pin-in extrication calls, and its manpower operated the DUKW (F-7) for rescues on Lake Michigan. It was going all the time.

The old Squad 21 (1952 Pirsch) had its squad body removed and replaced with a new standard pumper body in 1966 (its pump had almost never been used because it only carried a hose reel), and it was in front-line service for quite a long time as an engine, first as Engine 22 1966-70, and then as Engine 25 1970-76. Last time I was in Evanston (which was a few years ago) it was playground equipment in the park at the northwest corner of Asbury & South Blvd.

Tags: C. J. GILBERT HOSE COMPANY, Evanston Fire Department, Evanston Fire Department - The Origin of the Companies, Evanston Fire Department history, EVANSTON HOOK & LADDER COMPANY, NORTH EVANSTON FIRE COMPANY, Phil Stenholm, PIONEER FIRE COMPANY, SOUTH EVANSTON FIRE COMPANY (volunteer)