Archive for March, 2021

Evanston Fire Department History – Part 16

Another installment about History of Evanston Fire Department

The Big Stick

On Sunday, December 23, 1906, Isaac Terry was killed instantly when an explosion rocked the Northwestern Gas Light & Coke Company works at Clark & Maple after Terry inadvisedly dumped burning ashes into an oil and coal pit. The pit was 45 feet across and 15 feet deep, with 80,000 gallons of oil in the well. 

Initial firefighting efforts were hampered when the horses pulling Engine 1’s hose-wagon became frightened and ran away immediately upon arriving at the scene after one of the many explosions thundered from the pit, with the horses and the hose cart eventually ending up at Greenwood Boulevard and the lakefront where the fully loaded hose wagon overturned.   

The entire Evanston Fire Department, most of the Wilmette Fire Department — who responded to the blaze aboard their brand new Seagrave combination truck — and two engine companies from the Chicago Fire Department battled the conflagration until 8 PM, with firefighters pouring nearly a million gallons of water onto the inferno. Chicago F. D. Truck Co. 25 changed quarters to Evanston Fire Station # 1 at the height of the blaze.    

A couple of months later, on Saturday February 23, 1907, at 2:30 AM, fire destroyed the garage of Edwin F. Brown at Milburn Street & Sheridan Road. The garage was only worth $3,000, but three luxury automobiles — two valued at $5,000 each and one valued at $2,500, — a gasoline engine, a pool table, a sailboat, and miscellaneous tools and furniture were also destroyed, for a total aggregate loss from fire of $20,000, the seventh highest loss from a fire in Evanston’s history up until that point in time.    
 
Two weeks later, Evanston firefighters had to contend with hazardous chemicals caused by spontaneous combustion of phosphorous while battling a blaze at the Northwestern University Science Hall. The next day, the Evanston City Council appropriated funds to purchase a horse-drawn, 85-foot windlass-operated aerial-ladder truck (HDA) with a four-horse hitch from American-LaFrance, something that had been recommended by Chief Carl Harrison just two weeks earlier. Costing $6,700 and financed with a down-payment and three installment payments made each year 1908-10, the truck was placed into service with Truck Co. 1 at Fire Station # 1 after it arrived in July 1907 (and after the west bay of Station # 1 was lengthened to accommodate the new truck).  

Because the city council declined to appropriate funds to acquire the four new horses needed to pull the HDA, Hose 2 and Hose 3 were taken out of front-line service and placed into reserve, and the four horses that had been used to pull the two hose carts were reassigned to the new HDA. At this point in time (1907), mostly only large cities had aerial ladder trucks in service, and even then, only half of the Chicago Fire Department’s 32 truck companies operated with aerial-ladder trucks.      

To replace the hose carts at Station # 2 and Station # 3, the 1885 Davenport H&L (ex-Truck 1) was transferred from Station # 1 to Station # 3, and hose boxes with capacity for 850 feet of 2-1/2 inch line and a 150-ft lead of 1-1/2 line were installed on both the Seagrave combination truck at Station # 2 and on the Davenport H&L now at Station # 3. Hose Co. 3 was re-designated as Truck Co. 3 at this time, as the EFD now had one engine company and three truck companies in service, with two of the trucks equipped with enough hose to allow the companies at Station # 2 and at Station # 3 to attack fires using direct pressure (plug pressure). 

Evanston Fire Department manpower stood at 30 by the summer of 1907, with nine men (the assistant chief, a lieutenant, an engineer, two assistant engineers, and five firemen) assigned to Engine Co. 1, nine men (a captain, a lieutenant, and seven firemen) assigned to Truck Co. 1, six men (a captain, a lieutenant, and four firemen) assigned to Truck Co. 2, three men (a captain and two firemen) assigned to Truck Co. 3, two chief’s buggy drivers (one primary and one relief), and the chief, with the 29 line firefighters working a 112-hour work week (24 hours on / 12 hours off, with meal breaks taken away from the firehouse, either at home or in a nearby restaurant). So 19 or 20 men were usually on duty at any one time, although men were coming & going constantly.   

The aerial ladder wasn’t needed very often, but on July 4, 1908, Truck 1’s stick was extended to the roof of the First Congregational Church at Lake & Hinman to help suppress a blaze caused by errant fireworks. Chief  Harrison ordered soda-acid chemicals from the Babcock chemical engine and from the Seagrave combination truck to be used to extinguish the blaze, rather than water supplied from the ALF Metropolitan steamer or from direct plug pressure, so as to minimize water damage to the sanctuary.  

The summer of 1908 was unusually hot and dry, and the EFD responded to a record 28 calls over the first five days of August. Firefighters were going out constantly, and on August 5th three alarms were received within a five-minute period, the most serious being a blaze that heavily damaged the C&NW RR platform at Davis Street. Five days later, Evanston firefighters saved the Weise Brothers planing mill and lumber yard on Dodge Avenue after a large prairie fire communicated to a pile of lumber.  

In January 1909, the Evanston City Council approved a pay raise for 27 of the 30 members of the Evanston Fire Department, including a $10 per month increase for the chief, a $5 per month increase for the assistant chief, and a $2.50 per month increase for all other members of the department except for the engineer and the two assistant engineers.    

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

North of the Border

This from Asher Heimermann:

Raymond Fire & Rescue conducted a house burn along with several Racine County fire departments near 76th Street and Waukesha Road in the Village of Raymond. Wind gusts were between 28 MPH and 33 MPH during the live fire training.

The property owner generously donated the structure to the fire department to use for training purposes before finally burning it to the ground Sunday.
 
fire department burn down in Raymond WI

Asher Heimermann photo

fire department burn down in Raymond WI

Asher Heimermann photo

fire department burn down in Raymond WI

Asher Heimermann photo

 
 

Tags: , ,

As seen around … Merrionette Park

From Chicagoland_fire_photos:

Merrionette Park Fd station visit home to battalion 26, Engine 2613, Truck 2664 (out for maintenance),  Ambulance 2662, and Ambulance 2682 

fire engine in station

Chicagoland_fire_photos

Tags: , , , , ,

Libertyville ambulance for sale

Found at govdeals.com:

2008 Ford Econoline E-450 / Medic Type 2 ambulance

2008 Ford E450/Medtec Type 3 ambulance for sale

Libertyville FD photo

Auction Ends 4/7/21 12:21 PM ET
Remaining 11 Days 0 Hr
This item is subject to an auto
extension of the auction end time.
Refresh Bid & Time
Tax See Payment Instructions
Buyer’s Premium 12.50%
Starting Bid $5,000.00
Bids 1
High Bidder g******n
Current Bid $5,000.00
Bid Increment $50.00
Minimum Bid $5,050.00

2008 Ford Econoline E-450 CUTAWAY, 6.0L V8 OHV 32V TURBO DIESEL. See Pictures for details. Only the item described herein is included in the sale regardless of what else is pictured. Everything works, Runs and Drives Excellent.

thank Martin

Tags: , ,

New engine for Schiller Park (more)

From the Fire Service, Inc. Facebook page:

Final Inspection on this awesome pumper for Schiller Park

brand new completed E-ONE Cyclone fire engine

E-ONE photo

Tags: , , , , ,

As seen around … Chicago

From Chicagoland_fire_photos:

Engine 79s house the home to Engine 79, Ambulance 73, and field chief 4-5-1 but 4-5-1 wasn’t there
Chicago fire station

Chicagoland_fire_photos

Tags: , , , ,

Mattoon Fire Department news

Excerpts from jg-tc.com:

Some of the 12 candidates for Mattoon City Council in the April 6 election differ sharply on whether the city should revive the Mattoon Fire Department’s ambulance service or leave it inactive.

In between those two opposing points, candidates suggested having a third party analyze ambulance service date and have the department’s trained paramedics respond to more emergency medical calls with Mitchell-Jerdan Ambulance Service. The candidates said the city should place a priority on meeting its fire, police, and other public safety responsibilities.

Candidate viewpoints:

the city needs maximum police staffing for public and officer safety. On firefighter staffing, the city is at an impasse in negotiating a new contract with their union and is in related appellate litigation.  The city is not in a position to bring back the ambulance service due to budget constraints and to parameters for private ambulance coverage.

the city has been trying to get staffing equitability across the fire, police, and public works departments, which all play public safety roles. If firefighter staffing stays too large for a town of 18,000, the other departments will get less resources and negotiations with the union have been unsuccessful, so the city is pursuing arbitration and litigation on behalf of all residents.

the city has gone three years now without its ambulance service and probably will not reinstate it and that a reinstated ambulance service would not cover its operating expenses. Without an ambulance service, the city needs to reduce firefighter staffing as part of efforts to curb rising personnel costs and that the city, has a monster pension problem.

as society has changed, crime and demand for police protection has grown. The city needs to maintain the proper number of officers to protect citizens. Public safety also includes fire and public works, so the city must seek staffing balance. The city cannot afford to be in the ambulance business when there are private companies providing this service.

the city should not reinstate the Mattoon Fire Department’s ambulance service at this time but should instead continue to encourage the development of the ambulance services in the private sector.

the city should hire more patrol officers and detectives, plus drug task force personnel to respond to the substance abuse increase. The city also should finalize a firefighter contract to provide stability and a more accurate look at public safety levels. The new council and the union may find common ground on staffing between the current 22 and the contract required 30.

the city will have to wait until related litigation concludes before it addresses any future for a city ambulance service. If that service is reinstated, the city should utilize federal funds that provide reimbursement for caring for patients who receive financial aid. In the meantime, the city should still utilize firefighters’ paramedic training.

the city needs a public safety strategic plan to prepare for annexations, economic development and more and could build a grant funded, energy efficient fire station east of downtown to replace the dilapidated city hall station and serve Mattoon’s eastward spread. The city also should use street corner cameras to deter crime and provide evidence when needed.

the city can not further cut fire, police, and public works staffing while also maintaining the current public safety level. To achieve a balanced budget, the city needs to drive economic growth and cut wasteful spending from the top down. The city is overlooking the ambulance service’s potential financial benefits.

the city needs to work with both the fire and police departments to dissolve the friction between those two organizations.  “We are one city, one government, we need to work together.” That would help enhance public safety.

 
the city should ensure all its public safety departments are adequately staffed and have what they need to do their jobs. The current council did not fulfill its duty to provide for public safety when it eliminated the ambulance service, and that choice has cost the city a lot of money.

Tags: , ,

New engine for Northbrook

From Randy Buttliere:

Pierce 2021 Impel eye candy – This just showed up at MacQueen
2021 Pierce Impel fire engine

Randy Buttliere photo

 

2021 Pierce Impel fire engine

Randy Buttliere photo

Tags: , , ,

New mini-pumper for the Fox River and Countryside Fire Rescue District (more)

Updated photos of the new mini-pumper for the Fox River and Countryside Fire Rescue District

Alexis fire truck being built

Alexis Fire Equipment photo

Tags: , , , , , ,

Of interest … Chicago Blackhawks and Firefighters

From Chicago Blackhawks @nhlblackhawks

Tonight’s edition of the anthem recognizes our local first responder and emergency response community – featuring firefighters, law enforcement and emergency medical services from stations across Chicagoland.

click the link above to view the video

Tags: