This from Josh Boyajian:
Here are my shots from the Still & Box this morning at 3355 w. Huron!
This from Josh Boyajian:
Here are my shots from the Still & Box this morning at 3355 w. Huron!
Tags: Chicago FD Engien 44, Chicago Fire Department, Chicago fire engine at winter fire scene, Josh Boyajian, winter fire scene images, winter fire scene photos
This entry was posted on January 9, 2014, 9:07 PM and is filed under Apparatus on-scene, Fire Scene photos. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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#1 by Josh on January 14, 2014 - 4:51 PM
I personally have bourkes on my helmet. I always just use safety glasses. But the goggles are useless, because everytime you wear them, they always fog up and its hard to see.
#2 by Jim on January 14, 2014 - 4:42 PM
Are bourkes even used for anything? Goggles are just as useless. Anything on uniform changes?
#3 by Josh on January 14, 2014 - 1:56 PM
I was just at the commissary today and the city will no longer issue helmets with bourkes. They will all have goggles. If your head is smaller than 7 3/8 you will have an 880, if your head is larger than 7 and 3/8, you will be issued a carins 1044 with the Defender eyeshields.
#4 by Bill Post on January 13, 2014 - 5:20 PM
This is getting ridiculous and I think that there may be some truth to the speculation that the change of clothing is really being done to keep some arrogant bureaucrat happy. The company officer should be wearing a different color to identify them as the officer.
Mike, that is one emulation of the New York City Fire Department that we don’t need. If Chicago was really interested in emulating FDNY then they would be further statistically breaking down the types of runs that each company was going on (including EMS) instead of mixing together the fire runs and the special duty runs.
Mixing and muddling together of the types of runs that the CFD is going out on goes against the so called policy of “transparency” that the City was supposed to be following.
Dennis you mentioned that when you record the runs that you no longer differentiate in terms of numbers but when they report the year end totals (assuming that they still do) do they at least differentiate then so you at least know how many fires versus non fire emergencies that the companies have been going out on? Do they still give out the hours that were put in on the different types of runs?
The way that we were able to tell who was getting the real workers were really based more on the amount of hours that were put in at the fires then strictly basing it on the amount of fire alarms which didn’t necessarily mean that you responded to a working fire.
#5 by Dennis on January 13, 2014 - 1:45 PM
Not everything happens at first Mike, also we do not record special duty runs and fire runs separate anymore. No more red for fire run.. everything is counted one after the other. No more separate numbers for fires and separate numbers for special duty runs.
#6 by Mike Mc on January 13, 2014 - 12:40 PM
Santiago has been commissioner for almost two years. I find it difficult to believe that it took him that long to decide to change the uniforms. A more likely scenario is that someone on the 5th floor of city hall felt the members were looking too sloppy when executing their “safe passage” duties and wants them to look more spit and polish. Santiago would have been a young officer when the CFD tried the light blue shirts for officers in the early 1980’s. It’s possible that he did like them and wants to bring them back.
By the way, are “safe passage” runs recorded as special duty?
Bill Post: Blue officer’s shirts will be yet another FDNY adaptation by the CFD.
#7 by John H on January 13, 2014 - 11:39 AM
Sounds ripe for a Channel 2 news expose…with wheels falling off of ambulances, front line equipment that is more than two decades old….and the city’s brass is more concerned about people wearing a different color shirt or style of hat than channeling scarce resources into more critical areas of need (equipment, manpower, etc.).
#8 by CFD 1979 on January 13, 2014 - 10:00 AM
You hit the nail on the head Dennis. This has definitely happened before. It’s pretty sad that amid the overtime crisis, need of manpower, and outdated apparatus fleet that the city is concerned/will spend money on appearance.
#9 by Dennis on January 13, 2014 - 9:17 AM
The current Fire Commissioner doesn’t like how after a fire the officers look dirty in the white shirts, also the city doesn’t care about saving money. This would not be the first time there have been uniform changes that cost the city thousands only to go back to once was or change it again a few months/years later.
#10 by Jacob on January 13, 2014 - 1:31 AM
why would they make these changes? its seems like it would cost the city money if they did this.
#11 by Dennis on January 12, 2014 - 8:38 PM
CFD 1979, No, white shirts are being eliminated completely. A lot of this info I got from the commissary people and what’s in the new uniform contract for the commissary.
#12 by CFD 1979 on January 12, 2014 - 11:40 AM
Wow, that’s incredible. I have not heard that rumor yet! I wonder if the company officers would still where a white shirt for their dress uniform
#13 by Dennis on January 12, 2014 - 9:20 AM
The ” New” uniforms for the CFD will be( This is the rumor, I don’t usually like to spread rumors but this is a exception.)
No more shorts, no more short work shoes, no more Velcro shoes, no more polo shirts, no baseball caps.
All white shirts will be discounted and instead the officers will wear the same color button down shirts as the Police department, or in gray color. Everyone else will wear button down shirts with their name tag and their badge.
#14 by tom sullivan on January 11, 2014 - 9:22 PM
gray shirts were dress & work uniform for engrs until the commissary system went with a lighter shade blue work shirt, the “engr” rocker emblem is attached below the CFD shoulder patch. the engrs have traditionally stood apart from the main stream of fire dept. ranks. it is a tested & promoted position but is not supervisory. they have always had a unique place in the cfd, probably going back to the days when they were hired on directly, not having been ffs, before.
#15 by Jim on January 11, 2014 - 8:53 PM
Did the chicago engineers ever wear grey shirts?
#16 by CFD 1979 on January 11, 2014 - 6:36 PM
What types of changes are you talking about?
#17 by Dennis on January 11, 2014 - 6:05 PM
Don’t be surprised to see a major uniform change in the next few months for the Chicago Fire Department. The changes that I’m hearing that are coming down the pipe will be dramatic.
#18 by Drew Smith on January 11, 2014 - 4:18 PM
When I started in the fire service we would take the band out of our Class A cap and wear it as a squad cap on ambulance runs then put it back in when we needed to wear it with the Class A. We switched to baseball caps in the mid 80s. We also wore those “johnny coat” sweaters until the advent of the Woolly Pully then the current job shirts.
#19 by NYFF on January 11, 2014 - 2:17 PM
Thank you for the info Tom and David!
#20 by David on January 11, 2014 - 1:56 PM
The plastic fronts were replaced sometime between 1992 and 93. Starting back in the 1960s and used up until the 80s when the Cairns 880s appeared were also the MSA plastic helmets. Some FFs wore these with the classic 6 inch leather fronts, but the smaller MSA leather shields were used in some cases as well (Snorkel Squads…). Some CFD ffs also wore the vintage hi-eagles up until the 70s.
#21 by tom sullivan on January 11, 2014 - 9:56 AM
the “squad hats” were also worn by ambulance personnel, and the engrs. with a sewn patch “engr” and usally the operating engrs union button attached. the engrs. were members of a local of the “operating engrs union”, until the early 1980s when local 2 took over representation of all cfd members. the squad hats were not working uniform for regular ffs but a few would wear them.
the gray helmets were phased out in the 1990s when the commissary system took over issuing all cfd protective clothing and uniforms. it was a cost saving thing, the reasoning being that many engrs would eventually get promoted, and go back to wearing regular fire helmets.
the plastic front pieces,, another cost saving idea, (which were absolute junk) were replaced by leather ones with a cutout for company number/assignment stickers. that was in the early 1990s. many members were unofficially replacing them with leather (of varying styles) before that.
over the years cfd has gone through many uniform and protective clothing trends. some items are retired from issue but continue to be used until worn out. it was very common for ffs to be seen wearing all types of non-regulation clothing , particularly in the winter time. this was always a sore point with many bosses, some of them would particularly aggressive in “going after” non-regulation clothing wearers !
probably the classic non regulation item (after flannel shirts) was the wearing of us navy deck jackets and army field jackets in place of fire coats. a shortened fire coat was often worn by truckmen (and squad guys) for ease of climbing ladders and working on pitched roofs. these can be seen in many photos from before the 1970s. occasionally a few members would be seen well into the 1980 / 90 / 2000 era with similar coats.
#22 by NYFF on January 10, 2014 - 8:51 PM
I have a question: what year did the engineers helmets phase out? Saw many old pix where the Engineer wore almost a iron workers helmet as opposed to a fire helmet.
I agree, being from NY, that the personally ordered Squad-2 fronts look nice. I have also seen Sq1 and Sq5 wear company ordered fronts. Nice touches.
What year were the plastic fronts with the stick on refexite numbers discontinued?
#23 by Bill Post on January 10, 2014 - 11:46 AM
I remember those white ovals on the squad helmets very well and do you remember the “squad caps”?
For those of you unfamiliar with them, Chicago’s original squad companies, there were as many as 13, and the last of them were taken out of service in 1968. They were dispatched not only on still alarms (automatically with the first engine and truck) but they also were dispatched on inhalator runs which were EMS runs where resuscitation and oxygen was needed. Before 1955 the squads were usually dispatched first-due on inhalator runs and after 1955 they would be dispatched when the nearest ambulance was unavailable.
The squad men had these large blue caps that they would wear when they went out on inhalator and other special duty runs. They were also called pulmotor runs by many people years ago because the early resuscitators were known as pulmotors.
The old squad companies normally ran with six men assigned to them (like today’s squads). They started going on inhalator and other special duty (rescue) runs around 1916, however between December 1929 and early 1933, three rescue companies were created to handle the special duty runs. Because of economic reasons the rescue companies were taken out of service and the aquads resumed going out on the special duty runs which had kept them very busy in addition to going out on most still alarms. The first Chicago fire apparatus that were delivered with radios on them were three 1952 model Autocar squad apparatus for Squads 2, 6, and 7. Before the squads were equipped with radios, they would arrive on the scene of an inhalator run and would have to phone into the fire alarm office from the victim’s house to report in service and get any other assignments. That’s why the first apparatus to get radios were the squads because they were always going out on runs.
#24 by Josh Boyajian on January 10, 2014 - 10:02 AM
Yes! I believe almost all of Squad 2 has those shields!
#25 by Mike Mc on January 10, 2014 - 8:24 AM
Very impressive Squad 2 shield. About forty years ago, the squads (and also the snorkels) had the company number in a small cirlce on the shields. They were a little smaller than what the FF in the photo is wearing. The squad men easily stood out on the fireground.