This from Josh Boyajian:
Cicero had a fire today (10/26/15) at Morton East High School in the 2400 blk of Austin. First-in companies found smoke on the 3rd and 4th floors. After a long and thorough search, they found a motor behind a wall on fire. Companies held it to that area and it didn’t extend any further. Here are some shots.
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
Josh Boyajian photo
#1 by thefiremang on October 28, 2015 - 11:46 AM
Dear Ed unless you are a member of the Cicero Fire Dept you dont know what the hell you are talking about. The committee that was there at he time had picked a Pierce Tiller and a Pierce rear mount ladder truck for the best solution and benefit for the dept. Both apparatus had met the proper height requirement to fit under the viaducts in Town. At the final meeting Pierce was picked, and the administrator said what about the platform, never once the committee was asked to look at a platform. That being said the administrator, who worked for E-One for many years in Arizona, unbeknownst to the committee, said Pierce failed to spec a tower and the E-One was shoved down the committees throat and was purchased. I know the shift chief personally and said it was going to be an issue with the height of E-One and it become an issue. Both trucks have to detour to respond to calls, adding 1 to 2 minutes to their response time. The platform doe not reach the roof of the nursing home because it is a 95ft ladder. Tiller truck is 100ft and has to set up on the side walk to reach the roof. The tower was a demo, 2 years old to be exact and needed work on it before Cicero got it. The committee picked the right rigs, but politics and under the eyes of the committee did not know the administrator had worked for E-One, which should of been disclosed, something smells E-One doesn’t it Ed. So if you dont work there mind your business and stay a window licker. If I was you go meet the shift chief and he probably be more than happy to talk to you about your concerns. Maybe you can be administrator for Cicero and screw this up. Happy window licking
#2 by Ed on October 28, 2015 - 9:53 AM
I don’t know where the” firemang” gets this information but I knew the administrator well and he is sorely missed at CFD. The decision to purchase the platform was not his alone. There were others involved in that decision including the Fire Chief, Assistant Chiefs as well as a Lieutenant that was in charge of the apparatus committee who is now a shift chief. It’s true the administrator is no longer at the department but that has nothing to do with the platform purchase as implied in his post. There are other suburban departments that have low viaducts as well as the City of Chicago that use platforms and simply avoid the viaducts. The benefits of a platform are many especially when there are high occupancy buildings such as Morton East, not to mention an 8 story nursing home and several other buildings with life hazards. Just for the record, E-One has hundreds of aerial platforms in service that operate well every day. Also, “Firemang” forgets to mention a major operational mistake that occurred at a large warehouse fire that did a substantial amount of damage to the platform. “Firemang” seems to have a selective memory.
#3 by Rich on October 28, 2015 - 6:35 AM
Thanks for the info.
#4 by thefiremang on October 27, 2015 - 6:32 PM
Cicero got rid of the tower, very costly anchor, junk, too tall for the viaducts, due to administrator making a very poor decision on behalf of the dept. He is no longer employed on the depart. E wont tower had many long problems, 3 sets of springs in 1.5 years, computer issues, multiplex issues basically a hunk of junk in my opinion. Hopefully it will work out for Chicago with the 3 towers, and Oak Park and Bloomingdale. Cicero Trk-1 is a 1992 RM Seagrave that is certified every year, pump test and aerial test, solid rig
#5 by Rich on October 27, 2015 - 5:57 PM
Why did they get raid of the tower??????
#6 by grumpy grizzly on October 27, 2015 - 1:29 PM
That Seagrave RM is almost as old as Chicago’s squads!
#7 by Josh on October 27, 2015 - 6:47 AM
Cicero’s Tower Ladder was sold a few months back and they are awaiting the delivery of a brand New Pierce Dash CF PUC 100′ RM truck. Should be here in December.
#8 by Rich on October 27, 2015 - 6:05 AM
Is Cicero tower in service?
#9 by Bill Post on October 27, 2015 - 5:02 AM
Those are great shots Josh and it’s not often that you get to see shots of Cicero’s Tillered Aerial Ladder extended and in operation.
I believe that now it is just Evanston and Cicero that are using Tillered Aerial Ladders in this area.
By the way Evanston received their new Tillered Aerial for Truck 23 within the last couple of weeks however I don’t know if it is in service yet. I had gone past Evanston Station 1 on a bus about 2 weeks ago and the new Truck as well as most of Evanston’s other companies were outside of the house. I believe that it was a special meeting(perhaps to show the men the new Truck)?.