Chicago FD Administrative Order A-04-20

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Tags: Chicago FD Administrative Order A-04-20, Chicago FD Aerial Tower 1 becomes Chicago FD Truck 1, Chicago FD Aerial Tower 1 is taken out of service

This entry was posted on December 24, 2020, 8:00 PM and is filed under Fire Department History, Fire Department News. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

8 Comments

#1 by Chuck on December 26, 2020 - 8:41 PM

Bill. I think your comment about the Flying Squads being “redesignated” is slightly incorrect. Flying Squads 1 through 7 went out of service completely and the five new Squads were placed in service. And in 1982 when the 6th District was added, the Squad shuffle got odd. The story was that Squad 4 was (supposedly) to move from 116 to 95, 5 would go from 47 to 116, and the new Squad (6) would go to Engine 93. Instead, Squad 4 became 5 (and stayed where they were, 5 became 6 and went to 93, and the “new” Squad became Squad 4 at Engine 95. With that arrangement lasting only a year, Squad 6 got their bit of mini-revenge when they were combined with Snorkel 5 from 72 and moved in at Engine 122. The rest is history. On a side note, when they went in service at 122, both Captains were on the third platoon, so they were going to flip flop the Squad officers on the 2nd and 3rd shifts to correct the issue. However, the desire to work with a particular officer led to the entire 2nd and 3rd platoons of firefighters swapping shifts as well.
#2 by Bill Post on December 26, 2020 - 2:22 AM

Yes Harr,y Aerial Tower 1’s Pierce is a 2006 model and I had that corrected after my initial comment.

Aiden, despite Truck 28 being with Engine 35 at 1901 N Damen, the 105-foot Pierce with the pre-piped waterway would be an unmanned reserve aerial tower like the Snorkel was. When special called, either Engine 35 or Truck 28 would assign a driver to the Aerial Tower and the rest of the crew would respond on the engine or truck. Most of the special operations units respond that way which include the light wagons, smoke ejectors, deluge units, rehab units, bulk foam carrier, dry chemical units, the mass casualty vans, and other special operations units located in fire stations. There are some exceptions like Haz Mat units 511 and 512, and 687 the Scuba Team. I am not sure about the special operations garage on Pershing at Wolcott. They must have some people there to run with those rigs if they are needed.

The point is that most of the special operations units are brought to the scene with the engine or truck companies from their firehouse. I remember that until the late 1970s and the early 1980s, many of the special purpose rigs had their own drivers. They were usually on light duty so they wouldn’t have to take other companies out of service. Back then all of the light wagons, smoke ejectors, and deluge units Big John, Big Moe, and Jeep Pressure 1 had their own drivers. Most of these were due automatically on 2-11 alarm fires. Engine 42’s house was basically a special unit station where Big John, Big Moe, Light Wagon 1, and Dry Chemical 4 were housed. Each had an assigned driver. The first expandable foam machine was on a trailer there and pulled behind Dry Chemical 4. Big John, whose signature was 673, was due on all 2-11 alarms citywide. Big Moe would be available for a 2nd 2-11 which was fairly common in those days. If a 2-11 would escalate, Big Moe would go on the extra alarm. The smoke ejectors and Jeep Pressure 1 were about a mile and half north of there at 1044 N Orleans. That was Snorkel Squad 1’s original quarters and was then known as Special Services because of the special duty rigs stored there. Snorkel Squad 1 didn’t move out of that house until 1978 and they were taken out of service from Engine 42’s house around October 1980, less than a year after the Chicago firefighters’ strike. Prior to the strike, in February of 1980, there were seven Flying Manpower Squads plus Snorkel Squad 1.

Flying Squads 1 and 7 were taken out of service in the spring and fall of 1980. Snorkel Squad 1 was taken out of service and Flying Squads 2 through 6 were re-designated as Squads 1 through 5. They were relocated so that one squad was assigned to each of the five new districts in the city. O’Hare got a new squad which was first numbered as Squad 6. It was a Snorkel Squad using a 1975 Oshkosh/FMC pumper numbered as Engine 12 that was retrofitted with a 55-foot Snorkel. It was re-designated as Squad 7 in September 1982 when the CFD added another district to the city. The second piece of the Snorkel Squad at O’Hare was a GMC mini pumper with foam.

Other than the Snorkel squad at O’Hare, the city didn’t have any Snorkel squads from October 1980 until September 19, 1983. From October of 1980 through September of 1982 Chicago, ran with five squad companies and five Snorkel companies, each of which was numbered for the district where they were assigned. In September of 1982, Chicago added the 6th District in the city and at the same time a 6th squad company and a 6th Snorkel company were put in service. The CFD battalions were also reduced from 26 to 24 and renumbered, relocated, and redistricted. That is when the battalions were numbered consecutively in the districts they were assigned to.

After only a year, on September 19, 1983, three Snorkels and three squads were taken out of service. The remaining units became two piece squad/Snorkel companies similar to the Snorkel squads of the 1960s and 70s. Unlike the original Snorkel squads, these didn’t respond automatically on still alarms and they weren’t dispatched on fires until either a confirmed was fire reported by companies on the scene or if there were many calls reporting a fire. The current policy of dispatching a squad to a still alarm if the fire was within a few miles of quarters didn’t begin until the 1990s.

So even though Snorkel Squad 1 was in service for 18 years from October 1962 until October 1980, the Chicago Fire Department ran without a Snorkel squad for three years. Then, on September 19, 1983, three squad/Snorkel companies were put in service.

The original Snorkel Squads 2 and 3 were taken out of service around May 1969. The last year Snorkel Squad 2 ran without a Snorkel. Snorkel Squad 3 ran without a Snorkel for over two years. Snorkel Squad 2 ran from September 1963 until May 1969 while Snorkel Squad 3 ran from May 16th 1965 until May 1969. The last six months they were in service they were officially re-designated as rescue companies.
#3 by Aidan Hughes on December 25, 2020 - 11:30 PM

It’s impossible that the old Aerial Tower 1 would be stationed at Engine 35 as 6-6-1 when they already have Truck 28. The old Aerial Tower 1 could act as a spare for Aerial Tower 8 when their rig goes out for repairs. Aerial Tower 8 will be back very soon and they should handle the truck more seriously when it comes to low overpasses that a big truck can’t go through. I wonder if new apparatus orders were confirmed for next year?
#4 by harry on December 25, 2020 - 3:12 PM

actually wasnt at1 pierce a 2006 not 1996
#5 by Marty Coyne on December 25, 2020 - 5:36 AM

Truck Co 1 now has Truck 47’s old rig re-lettered for them. I believe the plan is to refurb the 96′ Pierce and put it at Engine 35 as a replacement for the old snorkel 6-6-1.
#6 by Bill Post on December 24, 2020 - 11:54 PM

So does that mean the 2006 heavy duty Pierce 105-foot aerial ladder with a pre-piped waterway is no longer in service at Truck 1? Since that rig went in service when it replaced the 1988 135-foot E-One ladder, the term “Aerial Tower” in Chicago came to mean an aerial ladder with a pre-piped waterway irrespective of the ladder’s height. Or are they still keeping the 2006 Pierce in service at Truck 1 for the time being? If that’s the case, perhaps the term “Aerial Tower” will now only apply to the 137-foot ladder at Aerial Tower 8, which was still out for repairs the last I had heard.

Speaking of elevated streams, I was wondering if any ladder pipes were used at the 4-11 a few weeks ago at 4425 W 16th, or were the elevated streams only from the three tower ladders and Squad 2A? Do any of the new E-One aerials have portable ladder pipes like Chicago’s trucks used to have?
Merry Christmas.
#7 by Jeremy B. on December 24, 2020 - 10:53 PM

I believe it was previously said they’d be getting Truck 47’s 2014 Spartan (Shop E251) after they got a 2020 E-One, but of course, things could have changed.
#8 by Bob on December 24, 2020 - 9:22 PM

Soo did they get a new rig?