From Phil Stenholm:

Another installment about History of Evanston Fire Department

EMPOWERMENT & RETIREMENT 

The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local No. 742 was organized by Evanston firefighters during 1942, and was officially established on February 1, 1943. Although the city council steadfastly refused to completely restore the pay cuts from 1933-34, a new state law passed in 1941 reduced the average work-week for Illinois firefighters from 84 to 73.5 hours, by granting firefighters a so-called “Kelly Day” after every seven days worked, and resulting in what was essentially a three-day mini-vacation. Chicago Mayor Edward Kelly had invented the “Kelly Day” during the Depression and modestly named it after himself, to give Chicago firemen more time-off when it was not possible to give them a pay raise.

To comply with the new state law and to provide coverage for firemen on their Kelly Days, the Evanston City Council restored four of the six positions that had been eliminated in 1933, but cut minimum staffing from 31 to 28 men per shift. (Actually, 35 men were scheduled to work each shift, but each of the seven companies could run one man short). Five men on each platoon were on a Kelly Day each shift, including three at Station # 1 and two (combined) at the other three stations. 

Not including the chief and the fire prevention inspector, a maximum of 21 men were on duty at Station # 1 each shift, but there could be as few as 17 if each company was running one man short. A maximum of five men and a minimum of four men per company were assigned to Engine Co. 1, Truck Co.1, Truck Co. 2, and Engine Co.5 each shift, plus a chief’s buggy driver.

A maximum of 14 men and a minimum of 11 men were assigned (combined) each shift between Engine Co. 2, Engine Co. 3, and Engine Co. 4, with a maximum of six men and a minimum of four men assigned to Engine Co. 2, and a maximum of five men and a minimum of three men assigned to Engine Co. 3 and Engine Co. 4, depending on which two of the companies had a man off-duty on a Kelly Day.      

By 1944, Evanston Fire Department salaries had at last met (and in fact exceeded) those from 1932. Annual EFD salaries in 1944 ranged from $5,100 (Chief Fire Marshal) to $3,528 (1st Assistant Chief Fire Marshal) to $3,384 (2nd and 3rd Assistant Chief Fire Marshals) to $3,180 (Captain) to $2,904 (Lieutenant) to $2,760 (Mechanic) to $2,592 (Fireman I) to $2,532 (Fireman II) to $2,460 (Fireman III) to $2,340 (Fireman Recruit).

In 1947, the Evanston City Council voted to add six more positions to the fire department in order to restore the pre-1942 maximum and minimum shift staffing levels, bringing the total number of members of the EFD to 88, with 43 on each platoon, plus the chief and the fire prevention inspector.

Two of the six new men (one each shift) were assigned to Truck Co. 1 but could be temporarily assigned to any of the other three companies at Station # 1 that might be running a man short. Two of the new men (one each shift) were assigned to Engine Co. 3, and two of the new men (one each shift) were assigned to Engine Co. 4, thus restoring the pre-1942 four-man minimum shift staffing at fire stations 3 and 4. Thirty eight firefighters were once again scheduled each shift, returning to the pre-1942 31-man minimum shift staffing, since each company could run one man short. The staffing increase however was short-lived. 

In 1946, Chicago firemen were granted a Kelly Day after every four days worked instead of after every seven days, and during 1948, Local 742 — led by William Owens, Fred Schumacher, Lincoln Dickinson, John Lee, Ervin Lindeman, George Jasper, and Leonard Bach — campaigned for a further reduction in the work-week, to match that of Chicago’s firefighters. The Evanston City Council eventually agreed, and the average work-week for Evanston firemen was reduced from 73.5 to 67.5 hours, as members of the EFD received a Kelly Day after every four days worked. In exchange for a reduction of hours in the work-week, however, staffing was cut back to the pre-1947 level of 35 men per shift, with a 28-man minimum if each company were to run one man short.

Beginning in 1948, eight or nine Evanston firefighters were on a Kelly Day each shift, including exactly one man from each company each shift, plus one or two of the extra men assigned to Station # 1. With one man from each company on a Kelly Day every day, a maximum of six men and a minimum of five men were assigned to “high value district” Truck Co. 1 and Engine Co. 5 each shift, a maximum of five men and a minimum of four men were assigned to Engine Co. 1 and Truck Co. 2, and a maximum of four men and a minimum of three men were assigned to Engine Co. 2, Engine Co. 3, and Engine Co. 4. There was also a chief’s buggy driver assigned to each shift. 

In 1947, the state pension law was changed to allow firefighters to receive a larger pension. Previous to 1947, a retired fireman would receive 50% of his final monthly salary as his monthly pension, regardless of the number of years worked. However, firemen who retired after the new 1947 pension law went into effect were granted pensions amounting to 50% of their salary, PLUS an additional 2% per years of service over twenty years up to 30 years of service, PLUS an additional 1% per years of service over thirty years up to 35 years of service. Thus, a firefighter retiring with 35 years or more of service would now receive 75% of his last monthly salary as his monthly pension.

The change in the pension law led to a flurry of retirements of veteran members of the Evanston Fire Department, as 21 men — nearly a quarter of the department! — including two assistant chiefs, two captains, a lieutenant, a mechanic, and 15 firemen, retired in 1947-49. That came on the heels of the retirement of 14 other veteran Evanston firefighters — including a captain, two lieutenants, a mechanic, and ten firemen — who had had their fill of working forced-overtime for straight-time comp days during World War II, which combined with the deaths of three veteran company officers during those same years resulted in a significant and rather sudden drain of a combined 1,000 years of experience(!) within a relatively short period of time.