This from Dan Jasina:
I toured the American LaFrance museum in North Charleston, SC on February 5, 2014. The first Chicago FD snorkel, a 1958 GMC/Pitman Mfg. was display. The apparatus was restored by Snorkel in 1988. This museum has the largest collection of fully restored American LaFrance apparatus in the country, hands-on interactive safety exhibits, and a children’s activity center.
Dan
Chicago’s original 1958 GMC/Pitman Snorkel on display as part of the American LaFrance Collection in North Charleston, SC. Dan Jasina photo
#1 by danny on February 17, 2014 - 2:36 PM
chuck the city out there funds to keep the doors open
#2 by Chuck on February 17, 2014 - 10:48 AM
So with American LaFrance going bankrupt and shutting down so abruptly, what is the status of the museum?
#3 by Dennis on February 16, 2014 - 9:53 AM
It was originally called Water Tower 4 because at that time all 3 1920’s Seagrave water tower’s were in service. When the fire department put the snorkel in service it only made sense to make it Water Tower 4. Once the snorkel proved itself and the city bought more the moved the water towers(Seagraves) to reserve and made the change from Water Tower 4 to Snorkel 1. The original snorkel wasn’t moved to SS3 till much later.
Here is a break down for G-145 (The 1959 GMC 50′ Snorkel)
In service: Water Tower 4 (signature 6-2-4) at Engine 1’s house 419 S. Wells St. on 10/14/1958 at 1705 hours
Moved to: Engine Co. 50’s house at 4659 S. Wentworth Ave. on 4/4/1959
Changed the name to Snorkel Co. 1 on 5/1/1959 which also changed the signature to 6-6-1.
Moved to: 5000 S. Union with Engine Co. 50 on 7/26/1960
Here is an interesting side note. On 8/18/1961 Snorkel Co. 1 was given Snorkel Co. 3’s rig (G-170 1960 Ford/Hi-Ranger 80′ Snorkel) to use while G-145 was getting rebuilt. So Snorkel 1’s crew was using Snorkel 3’s rig.
Moved to: Engine Co. 109’s house at 2358 S. Whipple on 9/22/1961. This move was just apparatus and number change. The manpower of Snorkel 1 stayed and the rig left. Snorkel 3 moved to Engine 50 this same day. So the manpower of Snorkel 1 was now the manpower of Snorkel 3. The rig G-145 was back from being rebuilt and went to Engine 109’s house. Not sure which crew manned it.
Snorkel Co. 1 went out of Service on 5/16/1965 with G-145.
Snorkel Squad Co. 3 (Signature 5-5-3) went in service on 5/16/1965 at 2858 W. Fillmore using G-145 and D-318 (1964 International/Darley Fog Pressure)
Moved to: 2337 W. Erie(Engine Co. 105’s former house) on 9/1/1967 (the same day Engine Co. 105 was taken Out of Service) So SS3 was in this house alone.
On or about 12/10/1968 G-145 was destroyed during the blizzard of 1967-1968 so they ran for awhile without a snorkel and the name of SS3 was changed to Rescue Co. 3 also the signature was changed to 5-1-3.
On 5/1/1969 Rescue Co. 3 was taken out of service and the manpower was used to organize Flying Manpower Co. 4 at Engine Co . 28’s house at 2528 S. Throop St.
So the original Snorkel shop# G-145 was used by the fire department from 1958 to 1967/1968, roughly 10 years.
#4 by Dennis on February 16, 2014 - 8:56 AM
The snorkel in Elwood, Indiana was taken out of service in 2011 when the bought a used tower ladder from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
#5 by David on February 16, 2014 - 7:22 AM
I’m not 100% possitive but I think that this may be the 1959 Snorkel as it looks today on a 1974 Ford C chassis (I think the original late 50s chassis didn’t have the spoke wheels like the rig on this shot). Here’s the link.
http://elwoodfiredept.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=50155749
#6 by Bill Post on February 15, 2014 - 11:02 PM
Phil , I actually remember the Ford 65 foot Snorkel that Snorkel 1 was using in 1959. I believe that it was the 1959 Holiday parade that I was at and the Ford (loaner) Snorkel was being used by a television camera crew (as a camera boom) and it was parked on the northwest corner of State and Madison. So as not to confuse anyone this Snorkel was on a C cab chassis and not the engine ahead of cab models that were delivered around 1961 for Snorkels 6 and 7 which were also 65 footers. A had found out several years ago that the loaner ended up at a small town fire department (I believe in Indiana) but I don’t really have any more details about it at the moment.
#7 by Bill Post on February 15, 2014 - 10:25 PM
John while SS-3 did run out of Engine 105’s old fire station before they were taken our of service (as Rescue 3).The Snorkel had never run out of the house at 2337 W Erie.
Snorkel Squad 3 was originally put in service on May 16th 1965 at Engine 66’s and Squad 7’s former quarters at 2858 W Fillmore,one block west of Engine 107’s current quarters. During the Great Chicago Blizzard which happened on January 26 and 27th of 1967 Snorkel Squad 3’s GMC Snorkel got stuck in a “Snowdrift” and was permanently taken out of service. From then on it stopped running with a Snorkel even though it retained the designation of “Snorkel Squad 3” until sometime during or after December of 1968 when it was redesignated as Rescue 3. On September 1st 1967 it was relocated to Engine 105’s former quarters. They officially were taken out of service on May 1st 1969 while “Snorkel Squad 2” which had been redesignated as Rescue 2 on February 14th 1969 and taken out of service on May 16th 1969. Snorkel Squad 2 was redesignated Rescue 2 was no longer running with a Snorkel (like SS 3 was) since some time in mid to late 1968.
The irony is that “Snorkel Squad 3” was running without a Snorkel for just under 2 years before they were redesignated as Rescue 3. Even thought they hadn’t run with a Snorkel beginning late January of 1967 they did run as a 2 piece company with the second piece’s varying at different times. They would use spare Engines, old High Pressure Wagons which were really Hose Wagons with a permanently mounted turret or “Deck Gun” on them and were being used as Spare Squad companies by then as the last High Pressure Wagon was taken out of service in November of 1964. During the summer of through sometime in 1968 the second piece of Snorkel Squad 3 was a one of kind GMC/Timco/Seagrave mini booster foam pumper which was originally labelled as Booster 1. The GMC/Timco mini pumper wasn’t quite the same thing as a Fog Pressure Wagon however it was very similar. The main difference is that Fog Pressures had special high pressure pump and Fog Gun type nozzles on their 2 hose reels that produced a high pressure Fog stream while the GMC/Timco had both a water and a foam tank on board and the pump wasn’t a high pressure fog pump. That’s beside the point however.
As to why SS 2 and SS 3 were taken out of service in 1969 despite being amongst the busiest companies in the city, is because in late 1967 the city had reduced the firefighters hours by giving them another “Daley Day” off however at the same time the city didn’t want to hire more firefighters to make up for the reduced hours. By 1968 it wouldn’t known on a day to day basis if the which Engines and Trucks would be running with 5 men (as they had all been running with) or if they would be running with 4 men on them.
Because of that shortage of manpower the late Commissioner Robert J Quinn took 7 of 11 conventional Squad companies out of service and began taking the Fog Pressure companies out of service, At the same time the city had it’s Consultant from the National Loss Control Corporation do a study and make recommendations as to how to run the fire department with out adding any positions to the payroll.
The result was that the 1968 study had recommended that Engines and Trucks in the busiest areas and the “Loop” (downtown) run with 5 men on them while the other Engines and Trucks in the other areas about 2/3rds of the companies run with only 4 men on board. To make up for running one man short on the 4 man Engines and Trucks , 6 and later 7 Flying Manpower Squads had been recommended to be put in service to back up the 4 man companies. The catch to the plan however is that all three of the Snorkel Squads that were in service had been recommended to be taken out of service and their crews would be reassigned to the new Flying Manpower Squads. Commissioner Quinn took Snorkel Squads 2 and 3 out of service but did keep Snorkel Squad 1 in service however.
Several Engine and Trucks were eliminated as well as 3 Battalions and 2 of 6 regular Snorkel Companies were also taken out of service.
There were also quite a few new fire stations built and some companies were relocated as well.
The consultant really shouldn’t be blamed for the manpower reductions as he was ordered by City Hall to find a way to run the fire department without adding any more positions to the payroll. In 1963/64 that same consultant was hired to study the distribution of Engines and Trucks in the city and while he had made recommendations for new fire stations and for the relocation of several Engines and Trucks outlying areas with inadequate coverage (at the time). In that report he didn’t recommend any reductions in the manning of the fire companies and he didn’t recommend the elimination of any Squads or Snorkel Squads. In fact he had even recommended making a few companies into 6 man units.
#8 by Phil Stenholm on February 15, 2014 - 6:09 PM
The rig was placed into service as Water Tower No 4 (6-2-4) in 1958, the boom was a Pitman “Giraffe” that was built for the Forestry Dept. The “Giraffe” basket had capacity for just one man, and a hose-line was slung alongside the boom to provide water supply for the deluge nozzle that was attached to the basket.
The apparatus was sent back to the Pitman factory in 1959 and was converted from a “Giraffe” to a “Snorkel,” with a larger basket, a better turret nozzle, and a pre-plumbed water-pipe.
During the period of time that the “Giraffe” was back at the factory becoming a “Snorkel,” a 65-foot Pitman Snorkel demonstrator built on a Ford “C” Series chassis was loaned to the CFD, and it ran as Snorkel 1.
#9 by John on February 15, 2014 - 5:58 PM
Snorkel 1 was originally called Water Tower 4. I think it was absorbed into the SS companies as the CFD got higher snorkels.It was in absolutely horrible shape prior to restoration.
#10 by Drew Smith on February 15, 2014 - 12:40 PM
I like that the cab doors say SS3 while the boom says SNORKLE 1.
#11 by David on February 15, 2014 - 11:23 AM
I think the original version didn’t have the piping. The water was supplied through a hose fastened to the boom by a few truckman belts.
#12 by John on February 15, 2014 - 11:16 AM
Yes, this was the small snorkel which the Snorkel Squads ran with, similar to today’s Squad concept on CFD. If I remember correctly, SS-3 ran out of Engine 105’s house at Erie & Western before they were disbanded. I think 3 was disbanded 1st, the 2 out of Eng 60 on 55thSt, followed by 1 in the early 80’s.