This from Eric Haak:
Here are a few images from Thursday, April 26, 1962. The fire was a 5-11 +1 special at 2710 S. Throop St. The building was owned by the National Plywood Company and sat on the eventual path of the Stevenson Expressway. During the early 1960’s, there were several large arson fires in buildings that were scheduled to be demolished to make way for the Dan Ryan and Stevenson. I don’t know if this was the result of arson but the expressway would be built very soon after. Also, it is interesting to note that this was literally a block south of Engine 28’s current house which would be constructed a year or so later. Still time is recorded as being 1:36 in the afternoon.
Eric Haak collection, photographer unknown
Eric Haak collection, photographer unknown
Eric Haak collection, photographer unknown
Eric Haak collection, photographer unknown
#1 by Eric Haak on November 10, 2017 - 9:39 AM
Thanks for the information Bill. My copies of these images are very high quality and a lot of detail can be seen that is not seen in these smaller files. The Pirsch you are talking about indeed does not have a number on the door and was probably exactly what you presume.
#2 by Bill Post on November 10, 2017 - 1:19 AM
Eric thanks for posting those interesting photos.I have never seen them before and they really capture Chicago firefighting in the early 1960’s. That shot of Fire Commissioner Robert J Quinn was good and it was typical of him to take in extra alarm fires and direct them from the front lines. Commissioner Quinn would occasionally fly above some of the extra alarm fires in a helicopter as he was a licensed helicopter pilot.
The shot of the wooden aerial ladder in the third photo represents the vast majority of Chicago’s aerial ladders at the time. Chicago only had about eight metal aerial ladders at the time out of about 61/62 truck companies that were in service.
That excellent shot which included the profile of the sedan cab pumper was a rare shot showing one two 1946 Pirsch sedan cab pumpers that the Chicago Fire Department had. That pumper was probably a spare rig as the two 1946 Pirschs were originally assigned to Engine 13 and 14. They had been both assigned newer Macks when this photo was taken. At the time Chicago had six 1948 sedan cab Mack pumpers which were still in service. Most of them were assigned to some of the engine companies located around the periphery of the Loop such as Engines 42, 17, 34, and 5 while the other two had been assigned to Engine 118 at Midway Airport and as Chemical 3 at O’Hare. The pumper in the shot could have been mistaken for a Mack but it was a 1946 Pirsch.