From Phil Stenholm:
Another installment about History of Evanston Fire Department
LOOKS LIKE A DUCK, SWIMS LIKE A DUCK, QUACKS LIKE A DUCK…
A 27-year veteran of the Evanston Fire Department and one of only four men hired by the EFD during the height of the Great Depression 1932-39, 49-year old Assistant Chief Lester Breitzman was appointed chief fire marshal on February 10, 1964, following the retirement of Chief James Geishecker. While Chief Henry Dorband’s primary interest was operations and modernization and Chief James Geishecker’s passion was training, Chief Breitzman’s main emphasis was fire prevention.
Capt. Harry Schaeffer Jr was promoted to assistant chief and replaced Chief Breitzman as commander of the Fire Prevention Bureau, and firemen George Strom, Sanders “Sam” Hicks, Len Driskell, Joe Thill and Len Conrad were promoted to captain and assigned as company officers, replacing the five EFD officers who retired after the American Hospital Supply Corporation fire. A future chief of the Evanston Fire Department, Capt. Hicks was the EFD’s first African-American captain.
New firemen hired in the aftermath of the AHSC fire were Michael Lass, Robert Becker, John “Skip” Hrejsa, Roger Pettinger, Tom Fisherkeller, Tony Howson, John Kloiber, Jim Marti, and Jim McIntyre. Michael Lass would later serve as president of IAFF Local 742, and during the early 1970’s, Local 742 grew increasingly militant under Lass’s dynamic leadership. He was promoted to captain in December 1970 with a promising future as an officer in the fire service, but his real talent was union operative. Lass resigned from the EFD in 1971 less than a year after he was promoted to captain, to take a full-time job as IAFF Illinois field representative.
Squad 22 (ex-T1 1924 Seagrave tractor high-pressure turret / hose truck with pumper body salvaged from ex-E4 1917 / 1930 Seagrave Suburbanite pumper in 1953) was taken out of service following the American Hospital Supply Corporation fire, and was dismantled and scrapped in 1964. The 1,750 feet of three-inch “fireboat hose” carried aboard the high-pressure wagon was redistributed to the five front-line pumpers, with 500 feet going to Engine 21. While Squad 21 was equipped with two portable turret monitors that could be set-up at a fire, the EFD no longer had a mounted high pressure deluge nozzle in service once Squad 22 was removed from the fleet.
In 1964, the Evanston Fire Department took possession of a U.S. government surplus WWII-era GMC 6 x 6 DUKW amphibious vehicle from the U. S. Office of Civil Defense. Painted yellow and with a radio call-sign of ”F-7,” the DUKW was housed at Fire Station # 1, and responded on what was known as a “duck call” – an emergency or other less-urgent request for assistance on Lake Michigan — during boating season 1964-74. The DUKW was equipped with a heavy duty winch used for towing disabled boats, life jackets and life preservers, an inhalator, two stokes baskets, hundreds of feet of rope, grappling hooks, body bags, fire extinguishers, axes, and other useful firefighting and rescue gear. It was manned by Squad 21 when needed.
Two major fires occurred in April 1965, the first being an explosion and fire at the Kozlow Brothers Radiator Repair Service garage at 125 Chicago Avenue, and the second one just a few days later at the Dickson Weatherproof Nail Company plant at 1900 Greenwood Street. The two fires were not related.
Three workers were injured by the explosion at the Kozlow garage, and were transported to St. Francis Hospital and Evanston Hospital via Evanston police ambulances. Engine 22, Truck 22, Engine 24, Squad 21, and F-2 were on the scene within five minutes, and the fight went defensive right from the get-go. Engine 22 took the hydrant across the street and led out two 2-1/2 inch lines manned by personnel from Engine 22 and Squad 21, and Engine 24 backed-up Chicago Avenue from Howard Street and dropped a load of 2-1/2 inch hose as well as three-inch hose line, before grabbing the hydrant at the northwest corner of Howard & Chicago and supplying water for Truck 22’s elevated master stream, plus another 2-1/2 inch hand line.
F-2 immediately ordered a second alarm upon arrival, with Engine Co. 21 assigned to take the hydrant on the west side of Chicago Avenue north of the gas station, and lead-out two three-inch lines to supply water for Squad 21’s monitor operating on the north side of the fire. Engine 23 and Truck 21 were assigned to cover exposures to the east, behind the stores and apartments located on the north side of Howard Street west of the Howard CTA station. Engine 25 changed quarters to Station # 1, and one off-duty platoon was called-in to man the reserve engines and the reserve truck.
Companies from the Chicago Fire Department’s 27th Battalion had responded on a still alarm for a report of an explosion at Howard & Clark and arrived at the same time as companies from EFD Station # 2, and although they did not go to work, the chief, an engine company, and a truck company from the CFD kept an eye on the eastern exposures (including the Howard Street CTA station) until the arrival of Engine 23 and Truck 21. The EFD successfully surrounded and drowned the ruins without any extension to nearby structures. The loss from the explosion and fire was estimated at $93,000.
The Dickson Weatherproof Nail Company was located at the southwest corner of Greenwood & Dodge, on the east side of the C&NW RR Mayfair Division freight tracks. Engine 24 was first on scene and reported smoke showing. Companies from Station # 1 arrived about 30 seconds later, with Engine 24 and Engine 21 leading out and taking hydrants, while Truck 21 laddered the roof and Squad 21 began salvage work.
With the American Hospital Supply Corporation conflagration still a fresh memory, F-2 ordered a second alarm, bringing Engine 22, Truck 22, and Engine 25 to the scene. The two truck companies ventilated the roof and then performed salvage work with Squad 21, while the four engine companies attacked the seat of the blaze. Engine 23 transferred (changed quarters) to Station # 1, and one off-duty platoon was called-in to man the reserve engines and the reserve truck. Loss from the fire was estimated at $100,000.
