From Phil Stenholm:
Another installment about History of Evanston Fire Department
The civil service rank of lieutenant was eliminated from the EFD in 1954, as the position was now called “captain II,” while the former rank of captain was now called “captain I.” The captain II position had a slightly higher salary than lieutenant, and a lieutenant would need to have served at least one year in the position before he could be promoted to captain II. A captain II would be automatically elevated to captain I after one year.
Five of the seven EFD lieutenants – Leonard Bach, Herb Claussen, George “Bud” Hofstetter, George Jasper, and Willard Thiel — were promoted to captain II immediately, but because they had been promoted to lieutenant on January 1, 1954, and had less than one year experience as a lieutenant, Lt. Harry Schaeffer Jr and Lt. Richard Schumacher had to wait until January 1, 1955, to receive their promotions to captain II. Therefore, Harry Schaeffer Jr and Richard Schumacher were the last EFD lieutenants. All future promotions would be directly from fireman I to captain II.
The Evanston Fire Department battled two significant “storefront” fires in 1953-54.
The first was at the Suburban Surgical Supply Company store at 604 Davis Street, on March 2, 1953. Because the fire was in the downtown “high-value district,” the initial response was three engine companies and one truck company. A second alarm brought in a fourth engine company, a second truck company, and Squad 21. Firefighters confined the flames to the structure of origin. However, the store was gutted, and the damage estimate was a hefty $100,000, tying this fire with the Tapecoat (1951) and Evanston Country Club (1922) fires for the fifth-highest loss from a fire in Evanston’s history up until that point in time.
The second fire occurred in September 1954, at the A & P supermarket at 2106 Central Street in North Evanston. Engine Co. 23 was first on scene, and encountered a light haze of smoke in the interior of the store. The second engine company and the truck company arrived and followed Engine Co. 23 into the store. While the companies were probing for the origin of the smoke, the ceiling partially collapsed.
Everybody got out alive, but Capt. Ron Ford, Capt. Herb Claussen, and firemen Arnold Windle, Dave Tesnow, and Ted Bierchen were injured and transported to local hospitals. A second alarm and a call-back of the off-duty platoon were ordered, with the off-duty platoon called-back mainly to replace the injured men. While the fire wasn’t necessarily spectacular, the A & P did sustain an estimated $70,000 loss from fire, smoke, and water damage, not to mention a narrow escape for Evanston firefighters.
Released in October 1954 and now legally in the public domain, the Evanston Fire Department starred in an Encyclopedia Britannica educational short film produced under the auspices of renowned educator Dr. Ernest Horn of the University of Iowa. Called simply “The Fireman,” the plot was somewhat similar to the one in the classic 1903 Edwin S. Porter silent film melodrama “The Life of an American Fireman,” and it featured a number of Evanston firefighters and some of the new Pirsch rigs in action. The film didn’t win an Academy Award, but it was shown in schools around the country.
SYNOPSIS (SPOILER ALERT!):
Under the supervision of Captain Drake and Chief Dorband, Fireman Tom and the other men participate in a training drill, where Tom and another man climb Truck 21’s aerial-ladder to the roof of the fire station and demonstrate how the the hose roller works, another fireman pretends to be overcome from smoke and is carried down a ladder and “resuscitated” by use of an inhalator, and another jumps into a life net from atop the drill tower.
Training over, the exhausted men relax in the station, but only briefly. A voice over a speaker in the firehouse suddenly announces “Alarm! – Third & Main… Alarm! – Third & Main.” Firefighters put on their game faces, slide down the pole to the first floor, and the Pirsch rigs roll out of Station # 1, headed west on Lake Street, with the men probably wondering, “Where the heck is Third & Main?”
After making several right turns, we see Truck 21 going southbound on Hinman Avenue, but then F-1 (Chief Dorband) and the Pirsch parade somehow end up at 2160 Isabella Street, on the Evanston / Wilmette border! Smoke can be seen wafting from the residence, and firefighters waste no time and go right to work, as Engine 21 and Engine 25 lead-out. One of the pumpers hooks-up to the hydrant at the southwest corner of Isabella & Green Bay Road, while Truck 22’s main is extended to the roof in the rear of the structure.
Long story short, Fireman Tom and Captain Drake wearing SCBA run into the house, little Judy’s kitten is rescued, the fire is extinguished, the companies pick-up, and the men return to quarters. The End.
The Evanston Fire Department rarely missed an opportunity back in the day to have firefighters hone their skills by drilling at a house about to be demolished, and that would appear to have been the case in this film. The ground on which the house was located would soon become part of a grocery store parking lot.
Encyclopedia Britannica released another educational short film called “The Policeman” in November 1954. With interior scenes shot inside the Evanston police station and exterior scenes filmed in Highland Park, “The Policeman” follows HPPD “Officer Barnes” and his partner in Car 91 on the mean streets of Highland Park, recovering an abandoned stolen bicycle, writing a traffic ticket, and finding a missing child. Officer Barnes is presented as a regular human being in the film, eating breakfast with his wife and kids prior to leaving for work, and then returning home to his family after the completion of his shift.
#1 by Phil Stenholm on January 4, 2022 - 2:54 PM
CRABBY MILTON: No question the sirens on the soundtrack of “The Fireman (version 2)” were – NOT – the same sirens as the ones on Evanston’s 1951-52 Pirsch rigs. I suspect what happened was the film was shot without “live” sound, and a soundtrack using stock sirens, bells, and other audio was added in post-production.
#2 by crabbymilton on January 4, 2022 - 7:07 AM
That 1954 version was interesting. Seeing all of those PIRSCH when they were new was especially neat. I don’t know if it was the sound track in films at the time but those sirens sounded a bit weird but effective.
#3 by Phil Stenholm on January 4, 2022 - 2:28 AM
JOHN: The three newest Evanston firefighters as of 1953 were Harold Cowell, Tom Kostopoulos, and Robert Schumer, but they would have been off probation by the time this film was made.
#4 by Phil Stenholm on January 4, 2022 - 2:16 AM
MICHAEL M: Both Engine Co. 21 and Engine Co. 25 were at Station # 1 in 1954, as were both Truck Co. 21 and Truck Co. 22, as well as Squad 21.
There were two engine companies at Station # 1 from November 1927 until September 1955, and there were two truck companies at Station # 1 from September 1924 until March 1955.
In the film “The Fireman (version 2),” you can see all five of the Pirsch rigs (L-R Truck 21, Truck 22, Engine 21, Squad 21, and Engine 25) in quarters at Station # 1. They were together at Station # 1 from September 1952 until March 12, 1955, when Truck Co. 22 was relocated to the new Station # 2 on Madison Street.
Station # 5 opened on January 25, 1955, but Engine Co. 23 was the there for the first seven months while waiting for the new Station # 3 to be completed. Engine Co. 25 did not actually relocate from Station # 1 to Station # 5 until September 3, 1955, the same day Engine Co. 23 relocated from Station # 5 to the new Station # 3.
EVANSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT APPARATUS (WITH FLEET #) CIRCA 1954:
150 – 1951 Mercury sedan (F-1 – CHIEF)
151 – 1946 Ford Deluxe Tudor sedan (FIRE PREVENTION INSPECTOR)
152 – 1951 Pirsch 85-foot TDA (TRUCK 21)
153 – 1952 Pirsch 85-foot TDA (TRUCK 22)
154 – 1952 Pirsch 1000 GPM / 80 gallon TCP (ENGINE 21)
155 – 1949 Seagrave 1000 GPM / 80 gallon TCP (ENGINE 22)
156 – 1937 Seagrave 750 GPM / 80 gallon TCP (ENGINE 23)
157 – 1937 Seagrave 750 GPM / 80 gallon TCP (ENGINE 24)
158 – 1952 Pirsch 1000 GPM / 100 gallon TCP (ENGINE 25)
159 – 1952 Pirsch 1000 GPM / 100 gallon combination pumper – rescue-
squad (SQUAD 21)
160 – 1937 Seagrave 65-foot aerial-ladder truck with 80-gallon booster (RESERVE TRUCK 23)
161 – 1927 Seagrave 1000 GPM / 50 gallon TCP (RESERVE ENGINE 26)
162 – 1927 Seagrave 1000 GPM / 50 gallon TCP (RESERVE ENGINE 27)
163 – 1924 Seagrave high-pressure / hose truck (SQUAD 22)
164 – 1942 Willys jeep (UTILITY)
#5 by Michael m on January 3, 2022 - 9:27 PM
Which engines were at station 1 at the time? Were they Engines 21 and 25?
#6 by John on January 3, 2022 - 8:35 PM
The plot is typical sixth grade filmstrip, but I watch it for the beautiful Pirsch rigs. But did EFD candidates get to be tillerman?
#7 by Austin on January 3, 2022 - 2:03 PM
You can see the version two on YouTube, as well very similar ones from the 60’s and 70’s. Both of those were filmed in California.
#8 by Phil Stenholm on January 3, 2022 - 9:36 AM
The reason “The Fireman” has “Version 2” in parenthesis in the title is because version 1 was produced and released in 1939. Same story, different fire department, film has been lost to antiquity. Version 2 was produced and released in 1954.
Same thing with the “The Policeman.” Version 1 was produced and released in 1940, a version 2 (the one featuring the Highland Park P. D.) was produced and released in November 1954, and then there was third version (same story, different police department) produced and released in 1966.
There was no third version of “The Fireman.”