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Steve Redick photo
Steve Redick photo
Steve Redick photo
Steve Redick photo
Steve Redick photo
#1 by Chris on September 28, 2014 - 9:45 AM
Is this a reincarnation of the “Little People” ??
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#2 by Bill Post on September 21, 2014 - 3:45 AM
Phil while the idea of Engine 16 being kept in service instead of Engine 48 because of Engine 16 being one of the 17 Engines that were in service during the Chicago Fire is an interesting theory when I took a closer look at it there were other Engine companies that were numbered within the first 17 Engines that had been taken out of service such as Engines 2,3,6,9,11,12, and 17. While Engine 2 was recently put back in service (as a boat) and Engines 9.11 and 12 had been out of service for awhile before eventually being put back in service then using that theory when the new station at the Fire Academy was opened in 1961 then shouldn’t have Engine 6 have been moved into the station at 541 Taylor as Engine 6 was located only about 4 blocks south of the “New Fire Academy” instead of relocating Engine 25 there? I do realize that Engine 6 wasn’t taken out of service until 1963 which could be reason but for the same token the when the new Station was opened at 2528 S Throop in 1964 for Engine 28 then wouldn’t have made sense to put Engine company 2 into that new house instead of Engine 28 as Engine 2 was located only about 4 or 5 blocks east of Engine 28’s new station and Engine 2 had been taken out of service in 1963 about the same time that they started build the new Station on Throop street?
I think that the reason why they may have kept Engine 16 in service is because back in those days the Chicago Fire Department had a few fire companies that had been designated as “colored companies” which is where “colored” firemen where specifically assigned. Engine 16 had been one those designated “colored companies” from the days when they were still located at 23 W 31st street. So I think that perhaps they didn’t want to take Engine 16 out of service as it was a traditional “colored company”. While the Chicago Fire Department did have “colored firefighters” that had been assigned around the city to various companies such as Snorkel Squad 1 (SS 1) there still were a few stations and companies that had been designated as “colored companies” in those days and Engine 16 had been one of them. Once again this is only a theory however it really did make alot of sense given the social realities of Chicago at the time which was 1965 when Engine 48 was taken out of service.
Engine 12 was also a “colored company” so when they closed it’s station at 1641 W Lake street on January 1st 1964 they moved Engine 12 in with Engine 107 and Truck 12 at 2258 W 13th street until August 13th 1965 when they were moved in Engine 95’s old quarters after there had been some neighborhood disturbances after there had been an unfortunate accident when Truck 26 (which was a Tillered Hook and Ladder at the time) had pulled out of the station 4002 W Wilcox and the Trailer of the Hook and Ladder and had hit a sign post which fell on a civilian and killed the person. It turned out that the driver of the Tillered section of the Truck wasn’t on board when the Truck pulled out of the station.
There were some neighborhood disturbances (riots) for a few days after the accident so Truck 26 was temporarily taken out of service and Engine 12 was relocated from Engine 107’s house as they were a “colored” company. Engine 12 was taken out of service from Engine 95’s old station on December 14th 1965 when Truck 26 was put back in service.
This was written for historical purposes.
#3 by Chuck on September 18, 2014 - 10:38 PM
Phil, it wasn’t the village of Hyde Park that was annexed, rather it was the TOWNSHIP of Hyde Park, which covered everything south of 39th Street and everything east of State Street – the companies which were part of the Township’s Fire Department became Chicago’s Engines 45,46, and 47 and Trucks 15,16, and 17. This came from Kenny Little in June of 1991, when I put Ambulance 57 in service at Engine 45 and we were looking to expand on the history of the house on the Grove.
#4 by Phil Stenholm on September 18, 2014 - 4:26 PM
BILL: Interesting about Engine Co. 16 being The Company That Came to Dinner.
Maybe it was because Engine Co. 16 was one of 17 engine companies in service at the time of the Great Chicago Fire that it was kept in service instead of Engine Co. 48?
Engine Co. 48 was originally Town of Lake Engine Co. 1, and it was one of 14 engine companies (#45-56), seven truck companies (#15-21), nine hose companies (#1-9), and one chemical engine company that were placed into service on 7-15-1889 when Chicago annexed the Town of Lake (which included the Stockyards), the City of Lakeview, and the villages of Bowmanvile, Hyde Park, Irving Park, Jefferson, Riverdale, and Rosemont.
There were several of instances of two engine companies being moved into a new house together and then the newer of the two companies stayed permanently while the older of the two was disbanded or relocated , but as far as I know, the only other “tenant” CFD engine company that took over an existing house from its host (besides 16) was Engine Co. 1, which moved into Engine 10/Truck 1 at 214 W. Lomax Pl. in 1927 when Engine 1’s old house was sold for commercial redevelopment, and then Engine Co. 10 (not Engine Co. 1) was disbanded in 1931 as part of the cuts made during the Great Depression, when eight engine companies (7, 10, 15, 32, 86, 90, 105, and 118) were disbanded and six more (46, 47, 62, 121, 125, and 127) were consolidated with six truck companies (17, 27, 34, 40, 43, and 45) to form “combination companies.”
Engine Co. 10 had been paired with Truck Co. 1 for more than 50 years (at two different firehouses in the south Loop) prior to the arrival of Engine Co. 1 in 1927, although Engine Co. 1 had been paired with Truck Co. 1 1859-1871 (the E1/T1 firehouse at 19 N. LaSalle was destroyed in the Great Chicago fire, and Engine 1 & Truck 1 were subsequently separated).
In the intervening 50+ years prior to moving into E10/T1, Engine Co. 1 shared its house with various companies (Hose Elevator Co. 1, Truck Co. 6, Water Tower 1, and Engine Co. 93), but never with Truck Co. 1.
#5 by Chris on September 18, 2014 - 12:58 PM
E16 – my favorite house 74-77
#6 by Bob on September 18, 2014 - 12:25 PM
Damn iphone. It added the ???? On it’s own
#7 by Bob on September 18, 2014 - 12:24 PM
Bill, I appreciate your comments. Everytime I come here I learn more and more about CFD company history. Thank you and keep it up ????
#8 by Bill Post on September 18, 2014 - 2:53 AM
Speaking of Engine 16s old house , that station was really built as Engine 48’s station and Engine 16 didn’t move in with Engine 48 until October 24th 1960.
Engine 16 had been located at 23 w 31st street. The unusual thing is that Engine 48 was taken out of service on September 16th 1965 and the station then officially had become Engine 16’s house. The unusual thing about that is that usually the company that the house was built for would be the one that would stay in service and the company that moved in later or the “tenant company” would normally be the company to be taken out of service and not the other way around,
An interesting bit of history is that Engine 48’s (Engine 16’s old house) had been the quarters of the famous (and very busy) Original Squad 3 until March 16 1949 when Squad 3 was moved to Engine 61’s station as in 1949 the “south side Squads were relocated to better cover the south side as they had been located a little too close together and needed to be spread out. Even though the station was located on a “side street” in an so called “odd location” that wasn’t always that case as before they had built the High Rise pubic housing (since torn down) I don’t believer that Dearborn was originally a “dead end street” and the companies at one time were able to go east to State street or go south on Dearborn as well.
#9 by DMc77 on September 17, 2014 - 11:39 PM
I hope the city doesn’t let E16’s old house fall into disrepair leading to it’s demise. It is one of the WPA houses built in 1936, which , IMHO are the best looking firehouses in the city. For being a block away from a major N/S street, its kind of in an odd location. Still, it’s a great house in what was once a very heavily populated area that saw its share of fires over the years.
#10 by Jim on September 17, 2014 - 9:21 PM
What kind of equipment is carried on 511A?
#11 by Nick N on September 17, 2014 - 7:56 PM
5-1-2 is based out of O’Hare, so in addition to all of the city calls they also run plenty of airport ops such as fuel spills.
#12 by Michael M on September 17, 2014 - 6:47 PM
According to Firehouse Magazine 5-1-2 was the busiest Haz-Mat Unit in the city in 2013.
#13 by Fred on September 17, 2014 - 4:37 PM
While most of the rig’s look new, does 5-1-1 “run” alot? Looks in good condition….
#14 by Crabby Milton on September 17, 2014 - 3:00 PM
16 is my favorite of this post.