From Phil Stenholm:
Another installment about History of Evanston Fire Department
NBFU ’59
The National Board of Fire Underwriters (NBFU) conducted an inspection of the Evanston Fire Department in 1959, the first since 1935. The EFD received a rating of “class 3” from the NBFU, the same grade it received in 1935. Among Chicago-area fire departments, only the Chicago FD was rated higher than “class 3,” having long held an NBFU “class 2” rating. The Evanston FD and the Oak Park FD were the only Chicago-area suburban fire departments rated “class 3” by the NBFU as of 1959. However, by 1971, the Skokie FD had been upgraded to “class 2,” and the Winnetka FD had been upgraded to “class 3.”
Recommendations offered to the Evanston Fire Department by the NBFU in its 1959 inspection report included establishing an additional engine company at Station # 1 to replace the relocated Engine 25, restoring pre-1957 staffing so that five men would be assigned each shift to companies at Station # 1 and four men would be assigned each shift to companies at the other four stations, mandatory annual physical examinations for all firemen over age 55, mandatory retirement at age 62, and making the chief fire marshal a civil service position rather than a political appointment.
The only NBFU recommendation implemented by the EFD was a mandatory annual physical exam for all firemen over age 55. As to placing an additional engine company in service at Station # 1 to replace the relocated Engine Co. 25, Squad 21 was placed back into front-line service and staffed as a company at Station # 1 in 1963, and the squad’s 1952 Pirsch did have a 1,000-GPM pump, a 100-gallon water tank, and a booster line, but it was not considered to be an engine company because the rig had no hosebed and thus could not carry a standard engine company hose load.
The iconic Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph boxes located on many Evanston street corners and in front of schools and hospitals were replaced in 1959 by a network of 80 police / fire emergency telephones manufactured by Western Electric that were connected directly to the city’s police / fire communication center. The Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph system had been in service in Evanston since 1895, but the new emergency telephones would permit an individual to advise the police / fire communication operator of the specific nature of an emergency, so that appropriate assistance could be dispatched without delay.
Each emergency telephone was enclosed in a bright red box with reflective lettering. Once they were placed into service, an EFD engine company would no longer have to respond to “check the box” after a fire alarm box pull. If an emergency telephone was lifted off the hook with no voice on the other end, the closest police officer would be dispatched to check what was called a “cold box.” The EFD would only respond if a citizen reported a fire or needed an inhalator. The telephones also provided police officers and firefighters with a method to call headquarters if a radio transmission was inadvisable or impossible.
Capt. Jim Wheeler (a future chief) and Capt. Willard Thiel (the EFD’s training officer) were promoted to assistant chief and firemen Dan Lorden and Ed Pettinger were promoted to captain in 1959, as Assistant Chief Jim Mersch retired after 23 years of service, and Capt. Joe Schumer resigned. The four new firemen hired in 1958-59 were Edward “Ted” Riley and LeRoy “Charlie” Rohrer (June 1958), Leonard Conrad (September 1958), and Ken Hatfield (March 1959). Len Conrad was promoted to captain in 1964 after only five years on the job, and he would become the EFD’s first “medical officer” in 1978.
Inhalators were assigned to all five EFD engine companies in 1959, so Squad 21 was no longer the city-wide inhalator unit, and now only responded to special rescue calls, and to fires when requested by a chief officer. A fire equipment mechanic normally operated Squad 21 when it was needed. The EFD averaged only about 100 inhalator calls per year (about two per week) throughout the 1950’s, but by 1965 the number of inhalator calls would increase to about one per day, and to two or three per day by the time the EFD’s paramedic MICU ambulance service was established in 1976.
Both F-1 (Chief Geishecker’s 1957 Ford station wagon) and F-2 (the platoon commander’s 1956 Chevrolet station wagon) were equipped with a stretcher and a first-aid kit in 1959, just like the police station-wagon patrol-ambulances. However, the EFD station wagons were strictly back-up ambulances, and were dispatched only if no police ambulances were available. F-1 was replaced with a new Ford station wagon in 1962, and F-2 was replaced with a new Plymouth station wagon in 1963.
The Scott Funeral Home offered to donate a Cadillac ambulance (ex-hearse) to the Evanston Fire Department in 1959, but the city manager politely declined the offer. The police department was providing ambulance service backed-up by two EFD stretcher-equipped station-wagons, and placing a Cadillac ambulance into service would have required either hiring more firemen (definitely not going to happen) or taking Truck Co. 23 out of service (considered inadvisable at the time). Spurned by its hometown fire department, the funeral home donated the ambulance to the Skokie Fire Department instead.
George and Effie Dye were killed in a house fire at 1803 Hartrey Avenue in 1959. Companies from Station # 1 and Station # 5 responded to the alarm and were on the scene within four minutes, but were unable to save the couple. Evanston routinely averaged one or two deaths from fire every year, but this was the first time more than one person died in the same fire in Evanston since firemen George Stiles and William Craig were killed at the Mark Manufacturing Company fire in 1905. The Dye’s residence on Hartrey was located along the imaginary line connecting Church & Fowler to Foster & Grey that was the furthest distance from an Evanston fire station, albeit within the NBFU standards of the day.
In November 1959, the Davis Furniture store at 721 Main Street was gutted by a fire, resulting in a $155,000 loss. Three engine companies, two truck companies, Squad 21, and several cross-trained police officers were on the scene and working within the first few minutes. Engine 25 and Truck 23 transferred to Station # 1, and then Engine 25 and Squad 22 (the high-pressure / hose truck) responded after the fight went defensive. Engine 23 and Engine 28 (ex-E24) were ordered to the fire to pump water for master-streams after off duty firemen arrived and staffed the three reserve engines. Off-duty men not staffing reserve apparatus were shuttled to the fire from their respective stations via CD pick-up truck.
Fire Prevention Bureau Capt. George Croll died after a lengthy illness in January 1960, and Fireman Art Windelborn retired in 1961 after 33 years of service. Fireman William Lapworth was promoted to captain, and Bob Schwarz, Richard Beucus, and William Lemieux were hired. Bob Schwarz was a charter member of the EFD’s elite “arson squad” (the FPB’s fire investigation unit) that was established in 1975.
A mysterious explosion heavily damaged the North Shore Overall uniform store at 1818 Dempster Street in May 1961. It wasn’t a major fire and there were no injuries because it happened when the store was closed, but the blast caused a hefty $107,000 damage to the store. The EFD’s Fire Prevention Bureau did not have the necessary expertise at that time to investigate the incident, so the Illinois State Fire Marshal was requested to conduct the investigation.
#1 by Bill Post on February 16, 2022 - 9:47 PM
Phil in that previous reply that I had sent to you in which I was comparing Chicago’s early EMS service to Evanston’s , I had mentioned about Chicago’s Battalion Chief buggies and that they were converted to Station Wagons in 1958.There was a typo in which I spelled the word “Were” which was supposed to spelled as “Weren’t”.
The point that I was trying to make was that Chicago’s Battalion Chief Station Wagons weren’t given Inhalators until 1967/68 even though they were running on some ambulance runs beginning in 1958.
#2 by Bill Post on February 16, 2022 - 6:40 PM
Phil ,just like you said there is no question that under no circumstances should have they let the minimum manning go down in Evanston from 28 to 26 people.
I would guess that firefighters union or that their leadership at the time was shortsighted. Had they kept the 28 people requirement Ambulance 23 and Engine 23 wouldn’t be jump companies. At least they now made Engine 23 the Jump company instead of Truck 23. It’s also ironic that Chicago’s suburbs are lucky to run with 3 men companies even though 4 man companies should be the minimum manning however realistically speaking that is not going to happen.
While I don’t know what it’s like in your neck of the woods if you go beyond the Cook County Border Line into Lake County there are some Fire Departments that only run 2 man Engine companies so they make the ambulance that they are located with run as the “2nd section” to the Engine company. But what if the ambulance is on another run?
Some good news up in the far northern suburbs is that Highland Park is now running a full time Truck company , however Squad 33 which was the full time unit out of Station 33 was given to Engine 34 as their rig. Before they put the new Truck in service Deerfield would have the nearest Truck company to respond to Highland Park however to my understanding Deerfields Truck 20 is a jump company to their Ambulance 20 which means that if the Ambulance is out on a run the Truck isn’t available.
Getting back to Squads and Ems responses as you mentioned before 1959 Inhalator runs were keeping Squad 21 busy city wide in Evanston. You have been around enough to know that is what was also keeping Chicago’s Old Squads busy also (in addition to fire and special duty runs). Before mid 1955 Chicago’s Squads were first due on Inhalator runs and the Ambulances were only first due on some accidents. The reason why I say on some accidents is that before November of 1955 the Chicago Fire Department only ran with 12 Ambulances. In November of 1955 Ambulance 16 was put in service at O”Hare field (which didn’t become the Major Jet Port that we know until the early 1960s) and in 1956 Ambulances 13,14 and 15 were put in service. It was the Chicago Police that provided much of the public removal service. The reason why I say removal service instead of Ambulance service is that the Chicago Police didn’t run with Ambulances or even Station Wagons like the Evanston Police did. The Chicago Police used there infamous Prisoner Patrol Vans (which are officially called “Squadrols”) to remove the sick ,injured and the dead from Chicago’s streets and private residences. While the Chicago Fire Department would dispatch an Ambulance after 1955 to an Inhalator run in someones private residence the CFD Ambulance weren’t allowed to remove patients from private residences so they would have to either call for a private Ambulance or let the Police remove the patient in one their Squadrol Vans also known as the Paddy Wagon. The problem with that was the Chicago Police never ran with inhalators or oxygen tanks in their Vans and their Vans main function was to remove Prisoners and Dead bodies to the Morgue. Due the fact that Fire Department couldn’t remove a patient from a Private Residence the Chicago Police would always dispatch a “Squadrol” to all EMS runs well into the 1970s. It wasn’t until 1972 that all of Chicago’s fire department “Cadillac” Ambulances were officially permitted to remove patients from their residences to the nearest hospital. Two years earlier in 1970 ,8 Model Cities Ambulances were put in service in some Chicago Fire Stations that were located in designated low income Model Cities areas where they were allowed to remove patients from their residences to the nearest designated Emergency Room. Those Ambulances were numbers 31 through 38 with 31 and 32 using Ford white over red Econoline Van Ambulances and the remaining Ambulances used White Pontiac Ambulances. Unlike Chicago Police Vans the Model Cities Ambulances actually were equipped as Ambulances and the Model Cities ambulance attendants were trained as EMTs as well as their fireman drivers who were also trained in first aid techiques. So 2 years later the Official Chicago fire department Ambulances were finally allowed to remove patients from their homes.
Back to Chicago’s Squad companies ,even though after 1955 the CFD Ambulances were first due on Inhalator runs, the Squads were still going on many such runs if the nearest ambulance was unavailable. In 1958 the Chicago Fire Department under Fire Commissioner Robert J Quinn had converted their Battalion Chief Sedans into Station Wagons were equpped with collapsible metal framed strechers and they also were equipped with first aide kits however they weren’t equipped with Inhalators or Oxygen. The Battalion Chief Station Wagons would be dispatched on accident and people injured calls when CFD ambulances weren’t available in their districts. The Squad were still 2nd due on Inhalator Respones however. Chicago’s 31 Battalion Chief station wagons were given inhalators until in 1967/68 which is when Chicago’s remaining (conventional)Squad companies were taken out of service.
So like in Evanston Chicago’s Old Squads were taken out of service as more vehicles such Battalion Chief Station Wagons were given inhalators. Also like in Evanston the City of Chicago didn’t want to pay for more firefighters as their working hours were reduced in 1967 so Chicagos Old Squads were taken out of service as well as 2 of Chicago’s 3 Snorkel Squads. Only SS 1 survived even though SS 3 was the busiest company in Chicago with SS 2 close behind. Even more ominous about 3/4s of Chicago’s Engines and Trucks had their assigned manpower reduced from 5 men to 4 men per shift. This had happened in late 1967 and early 1968.
#3 by Phil Stenholm on February 16, 2022 - 1:38 PM
BILL: I was long-gone and out of the loop when the Evanston Fire Department acquired the Pierce Tele-Squrt pumper in 1994, so I don’t know what the rationale was behind that. However, the Tele-Squrt directly replaced the Seagrave quint in the fleet (both were fleet # 305), so the “white elephant” 1979 Seagrave quint was obviously gone by 1994 (probably sold to another FD) and was replaced by the Pierce Tele-Squrt, although the Tele-Squrt ran as an engine and not as a truck.
The two Pierce TDAs replaced the 1979 Seagrave 1250 / 300/ 100-foot quint (T21) and the 1968 Pirsch 100-foot TDA (T22) as front-line rigs in 1990-91, with the Seagrave quint probably retained as the reserve truck 1990-94. So I don’t know if the EFD even had a reserve truck 1994-98, up until the ex-San Antonio FD RMA was acquired in 1998 specifically to be the EFD’s reserve truck.
#4 by Phil Stenholm on February 16, 2022 - 1:15 PM
The original jump crew for Ambulance 3 back when A-3 was the ex-Skokie Cadillac ambulance (1977-80) were the two “left-over” firefighters still assigned to Squad 21.
It was only after the minimum shift staffing was cut from 28 to 26 in 1980 that Squad 21 became an unmanned jump rig and Truck 21 became the jump crew for Ambulance 3.
#5 by Phil Stenholm on February 16, 2022 - 1:07 PM
BILL: As far as I know Evanston never considered purchasing a Snorkel. The EFD chiefs were mainly concerned with getting a third truck company back into service after Truck 23’s crew was reassigned to Squad 21 in January 1963, and as you know, there never was a third truck company again after that, although Truck Co. 21 was moved to Station # 3 in 1991.
Although Evanston never had a Snorkel, Skokie operated a Snorkel-truck (1969 Pirsch), Wilmette had a Snorkel-squad (1975 Seagrave “P” 1250/300 55-ft Snorkel-squad quint), and Winnetka had a Snorkel-quint (1983 American LaFrance). In fact when I was dispatching for Evanston back in the 1980’s, Winnetka’s snorkel was added to the Evanston MABAS box card when it was placed in service in 1983, so Evanston obviously wanted a snorkel to respond to major fires, they just didn’t want one of their own.
But you are right when you say that a small 40-foot or 50-foot Snorkel (like the ones used by Chicago’s Snorkel squads in the 1960’s) would have been a useful second piece of Squad 21 back in the day. Then Squad 21 – REALLY – would have been Evanston’s version of SS-1!
As for why Squad 21 was taken out of service, one of its firefighters (or at least the slot) was assigned to the second MICU ambulance when it was placed into service in January 1977, and then the other two positions were eliminated in 1980 when the EFD cut from a 28-man shift to 26. (Actually, the EFD should have maintained the 28-man minimum at all costs, not to keep Squad 21 in service, bit to provide dedicated staffing for the third ambulance, instead of having the third ambulance be a jump ambulance).
Squad 21 (the 1965 International pumper-squad) was replaced with a 1977 Chevrolet / Penn Versatile Van (known as the “pie truck”) in January 1978 because there was just too much equipment (extrication tools, dive team gear, etc) to fit on a pumper-squad, so it was clear that Squad 21 was not going to be a frontline company with that rig.
#6 by Bill Post on February 16, 2022 - 11:57 AM
Phil that was a very good point that you had made when it came to comparing Skokie to Evanston and there is no question that Chief Redick deserves much of the Credit making the Skokie Fire Department one of the best Fire Departments in the Chicago Area. I remember that Old Chicago Fire Insurance Patrol rig at the Old Skokie Station 2 on Hamlin near Main street. The word Old was actually a misnomer on my Part because the rig that Skokie got was actually the newest Salvage Apparatus that the Old Fire Insurance Patrol had and not only was it great looking rig but the Skokie Fire Department had Installed a huge Water Monitor (Deck Gun) behind the Cab very similar to Chicago’s Old Squad companies, except the Deck Gun on Skokies rig seemed to be even larger then Chicago’s Deck Guns. That wasn’t in service for more than a year as the Fire Insurance Patrol was closed in 1959 and that new rig was a 1958 model Engine a head of Cab Ford. Another interesting thing about the Skokie Fire Department was that after the new Station 1 (16) was opened in 1969 all 3 firestations had both an Engine and a Truck company with an Aerial Device assigned to them.
As you know very few if any fire departments have an Engine to Truck ratio of One for One. So in 1980 Skokie Truck 2 was converted into Rescue Truck 2 which in effect made it into a 4th Engine company with Extra Truck tools and it was also an ALS Engine.
Getting back to Evanston one of things that had bothered me back during the 1960s and early 70s is that Evanston had never purchased a Snorkel. Back in the 60s many fire departments had either been trying out or even purchasing Snorkels. I realize now that Evanston would probably have had some clearance and radius difficulties using a large Snorkel on some of it’s streets however when it comes to a small 55 foot Snorkel mounted on an Engine or even a Squad body(similar to Wilmettes Snorkel) could have made sense for Evanston. In fact a number to times you had compared Evanstons Old Squad 21 when it was running with a Pumper/Squad and had it’s own crew assigned to it as Evanstons “SS 1”. I think an Pumper Squad with a Small Snorkel on it would have been a good replacement for Evanston Squad 21’s 1965 International Harvester Pumper/Squad. If I am correct wasn’t it’s manpower cut to put Ambulance 21 and 22 in service?
So the question is did Evanston ever consider purchasing or trying out a Snorkel? It’s ironic that Evanston purchased a Telesquirt equipped pumper in the 1990s however that really wasn’t a Snorkel and it was purchased with an ulterior motive so as to get rid of Truck 23 correct?
#7 by Phil Stenholm on February 16, 2022 - 9:24 AM
JIM: Raymond Redick was named chief of the Skokie Fire Department after the Chicago Fire Insurance Patrol was disbanded in 1959. The village government then allowed Chief Redick to essentially build the fire department from the ground up, and provided him the necessary funds to do it.
The Fire Insurance Patrol was known for loss prevention and salvage, and that’s what Chief Redick emphasized once he became chief, taking the Skokie FD from a backwater second or third rate fire department pre-1959 to what was arguably the # 1 suburban Chicago fire department by 1970.
To help promote better firefighting operations and fire prevention, Chief Redick remade the Skokie FD training program and instituted a strong fire code enforcement program, and under Chief Redick’s leadership, Skokie hired more firefighters, built two new fire stations, and acquired new apparatus. He even placed a dedicated salvage squad (an ex=CFIP rig) in service in 1960, six or seven years before the Chicago Fire Department placed its first two salvage squads into service!
Since the National Board of Fire Underwriters is an insurance consortium that values loss prevention and salvage, fire code enforcement, water supply, training, properly manned companies, and modern firefighting apparatus, it’s probably not too much of a surprise that the NBFU would look favorably upon the Skokie Fire Department of 1970, and bestow a “class 2” rating on it.
It helped a bit that most of Skokie was built post-WWII, allowing for newer and larger water-mains, installation of sprinkler systems, and the use of more modern construction materials than were found in many structures in Evanston, some of which were built pre-1900. Also, Skokie’s streets were wider, allowing fire apparatus to drive faster than was the case in Evanston.
And with the G. D. Searle pharma company plant anchoring its downtown and with numerous manufacturing plants located in the southeast section of the village, Skokie had a strong commercial tax base in place to fund its village government (and fire department).
One other thing that benefited Skokie and hurt Evanston was the opening of the Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie in 1956. Many of the upscale stores formerly located in downtown Evanston moved to Old Orchard, leading to the gradual decline of downtown Evanston and the loss of what had been a significant commercial / business tax base, meaning Evanston had to rely more and more on politically unpopular residential property taxes to fund its fire department, while Skokie was collecting significant tax revenue from Old Orchard.
#8 by Jim on February 15, 2022 - 3:33 PM
Phil,
What happened to the Skokie Fire Department that it was upgraded to a rating of 2 by 1971? Do you have the same knowledge and history of the Skokie Fire Department? Both of these departments seem to be great organizations in the past and today.
#9 by Mike L on February 15, 2022 - 9:31 AM
Awesome! Thanks for the follow up info, Phil.
#10 by Phil Stenholm on February 15, 2022 - 12:48 AM
MIKE L: The Skokie Cadillac ambulance loaned to Evanston in November 1976 was not the ambulance donated to Skokie by the Scott Funeral Home in 1959.
The Cadillac ambulance loaned (and later sold) to the EFD was one of two still-serviceable 1969-70 Cadillac ambulances that had been replaced as front-line units in August 1975 after the Skokie F. D. implemented its paramedic program and placed their first two Chevrolet MICU modular ambulances in service.
So even after Skokie loaned the Cadillac ambulance to Evanston, they still had another one in reserve.
#11 by John on February 14, 2022 - 8:29 PM
If the pic I found was the right one, the ambo was a 57 Cadillac Eureka. Appeared to be red with a white top,with the landau irons still on it. Nice looking coach.
#12 by Mike L on February 14, 2022 - 6:00 PM
Hey, Phil. Was that Cadillac ambulance the same one Skokie lent to Evanston after the original, and only ambulance at the time, Amb 1 was wrecked?