As seen around … Gary, IN « chicagoareafire.com

As seen around … Gary, IN

From Chi-Town Fire Photos:

Here are some shots from some old Gary, IN fire trucks sitting in their graveyard.

Chi-Town Fire Photos

Tags: abandoned fire truck, chi-town fire photos, chicagoareafire.com, Ferrara fire engine, fire truck graveyard, Gary Fire Department, Pierce heavy rescue, Seagrave fire engine

This entry was posted on April 5, 2022, 7:00 AM and is filed under Fire Department History, Fire Truck photos. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

16 Comments

#1 by crabbymilton on May 3, 2022 - 1:33 PM

The rig that is dedicated to your father may have been forgotten but your memories of him and the service he gave will never fade away.
#2 by Gordon Sloan on May 3, 2022 - 1:24 PM

That J Cab Seagrave was originally at Station 4. (It has “7” on it) That engine was dedicated to my father, Chief Fire Inspector Booker Sloan. Those Seagraves served the city for many years.
#3 by crabbymilton on April 13, 2022 - 7:18 AM

It’s very sad and disgusting that we even have to talk about these cuts. Not just Milwaukee but everywhere. As John said, very bad management. You could have a great leadership group in any fire of police dept. but it’s academic when we have a mayor that is not a friend of public safety. Shared service is a good idea in some areas but unfortunately Milwaukee seems to think that the suburban Milwaukee County departments are subservient to them thereby justifying closing more companies. As John said where indeed are they going to cut since there’s not much left.
#4 by MABAS 21 on April 12, 2022 - 7:22 PM

At Gary’s last fire at Loves, I saw pictures of the former Tower 7 Ferrera working and lettered as Tower 2. I also saw pictures of the former Valpo Tower at the same fire lettered as Gary Tower 1. So are the 2 HME ex Trucks 1 & 2 gone or reserve? And will Truck 7 return with its previous ALF 110′?
#5 by John Antkowski on April 12, 2022 - 6:49 PM

They must have bad upper management. If they are waiting for new recruits to fill the void. First off, you need to stay on top of the testing process. The Fire Department staff is fluid, you have retirements, duty disability and so on. If the city’s not doing well protective services will suffer because they are the easiest to cut. Detroit received help from the federal government. They lost companies because of money or lack of and bad management. I recommend watching (Burn) it’s all about the struggles of the Detroit Fire Department. Gary can come back but it’s going to be a struggle. Milwaukee is going down that path too. I heard thru the rumor mill that they have to cut 6 companies. I can’t imagine where. They might have to decide on keeping EMS. If they went to a fire only department they might be able to do it. That would mean giving pre hospital to a private company. It’s going to be interesting how they make it work. You can’t relay on shared services to pick up the slack. Because they have citizens in their own city to protect.
#6 by harry on April 12, 2022 - 3:42 PM

well if detroit can get back on there feet by getting new rigs i am sure gary can to gary has a sharp color scheme
#7 by Jason Ketchem on April 12, 2022 - 12:47 PM

Companies in service as of today:
Engines 4,5,7,9,12,13
Trucks 1,2
Ambulances 1,4,5,7

Closed Stations- 3,6,8,10, & 11

Looking to get Amb 13, T-7, E-1 & E-3 opened up when candidates graduate.
#8 by Mike G on April 10, 2022 - 5:34 PM

Guess it might be the time for a full update of the entire dept if Jason would be so kind to do so. What stations are open what engines are in service as well as what ladder trucks etc thanks
#9 by Mike Mc on April 6, 2022 - 1:41 PM

What is the location of the graveyard? Thanks.
#10 by Jason ketchem on April 6, 2022 - 8:46 AM

Manpower problems are the issues here. We used to have 290 guys. Now we have 140. The tanker is a used 2003 sterling 2500 gallon. At the moment it is not staffed. Possibly staffed with an overtime chauffeur during brush season. The new squad is not in service yet. It’s still being unfitted. It will be pulling double duty (manpower issues). We’re trying to get truck 7 and Eng 3 opened back up when these rookies graduate. We shall see
#11 by Mike C on April 6, 2022 - 7:51 AM

I didn’t think that Ferrara was very old. Did it have some sort of significant failure?

That Seagrave probably dates back about 30 years or a little more. These J-Cabs really held up well and lasted a long time!
#12 by crabbymilton on April 6, 2022 - 5:51 AM

Sad to see any old SEAGRAVE sitting dead like that. Obviously the goof who sprayed their so called artwork on that rig isn’t an apparatus fan. But I guess at this point it’s academic.
#13 by michael m on April 6, 2022 - 4:05 AM

WOW! that is sad to see. I am surprised they are only going to be using the new squad as an engine only. My guess is they do not have either the manpower or the crews are not yet trained on how to function as a squad. To Gary’s credit at least they are trying. At least they have gotten new rigs in the last 5 years.
#14 by Cory on April 5, 2022 - 4:23 PM

Don’t know much about the tender other then it’s a used tender .they are taking engine 4 out of service and putting squad 4 in service as a engine only
#15 by Luke Jackson on April 5, 2022 - 3:42 PM

Kind of a shame really, especially the graffiti on Squad 2. Has anyone heard anything about the new squad 4 and the new tender?
#16 by Mike hellmuth on April 5, 2022 - 3:37 PM

A little work new paint job and door and they will be like brand new…..NOT