This from Mike Summa for #TBT:
For TBT-This was the Garden Homes FPD’s Engine 2543, a 1981 Seagrave WB 1500/500 X Bedford Park. Enjoy and comment.
Mike Summa photo
And from our files:
Larry Shapiro photo
Karl Klotz photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Posts Tagged Bedford Park Fire Department history
This from Mike Summa for #TBT:
For TBT- Bedford Park Engine 707, a 1960’s Seagrave. Unknown specs.Mike Summa
Bedford Park Engine 707, a 1960’s Seagrave. Mike Summa photo
From The DesPlaines Valley News:
The vintage Bedford Park Fire Department Snorkel … that was possibly headed to the scrap yard has been rescued from oblivion.
Fire Chief Sean Maloy said the truck, which was the first original Snorkel manufactured in 1959, will be donated to Smeal Fire Apparatus of Snyder, Neb. “They said the Snorkel will be restored 100 percent to its condition when delivered to the Bedford Park Fire Department on March 31, 1960,” Maloy said.
The company will keep the Snorkel on display in its museum as well as take it to fire apparatus shows. Smeal bought the rights to the Snorkel name from LTI in June, Maloy said. “They plan to start building Snorkels again and want to show off the original truck at fire conferences,” Maloy said. “It will definitely be a marketing tool.”
“The truck will retain the Bedford Park name and markings,” Maloy said. “We will send them photos of the original truck so they make sure to get everything right.” Maloy said the company would pay the village $1 for the truck, which needs an estimated $60,000 in body and engine work.
“The village board was very happy to see the truck get a good home,” Maloy said. “The truck is an important part of firefighting history and I’m very happy to see it will be going to a good home.”
While the first Snorkel was converted from [a tree trimmer],
GMCPierce produced the first original Snorkel fire truck in 1959 for the Chicago Fire Department. “For some reason, they did not purchase it and it wound up in Bedford Park,” said Maloy. “I’m told Bedford Park got a good deal on it.” For the next 20 years, Bedford Park firefighters used theGMCSnorkel to battle fires and drive in parades.Maloy praised this newspaper for helping to make this all possible.
thanks Drew
This from Larry Shapiro:
It appears that the Bedford Park Fire Department was not successful in finding a buyer for the 1959 GMC/Pierce/Snorkel. Recent information was that it would go to a scrap dealer.
I visited last week and took some photos to remember the Snorkel.
Bedford Park’s original Snorkel as it currently rests behind station 1. Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Bedford Park FD Truck 712, 1959 GMC/Pierce 55′ Snorkel. Larry Shapiro photo
And the DesPlaines Valley News has an article …
There’s a story that former Chicago Fire Commissioner Robert Quinn invented the Snorkel fire truck in 1958 by running a hose up a cherry picker truck and pumping water down onto a fire.
While the first snorkel [was a] converted vehicle,GMC[Pierce] produced the first original Snorkel fire truck in 1959 for the Chicago Fire Department.
“For some reason, they did not purchase it and it wound up in Bedford Park,” said Bedford Park Fire Chief Sean Maloy. “I’m told Bedford Park got a good deal on it.”
For the next 20 years, Bedford Park firefighters used the GMC Snorkel to battle fires and drive in parades.
“In 1980, we gave it to public works for use as a work truck,” Maloy said. “About 15 years ago, they stopped using it.” The truck sat for years in a Public Works parking lot.
Eventually, firefighters decided they wanted to restore the vintage piece of firefighting equipment.
“We had it towed to the fire yard. We wanted to restore it,” Maloy said. “We set aside $30,000. We wanted to make it pretty for parades.”
Then the other shoe dropped.
“We had it evaluated,” Maloy said. “We found out it needed a lot of body work and a new engine just to make it able to run.” He said the needed repairs would have doubled the cost of restoring the snorkel. “We decided it wouldn’t be a prudent use of another $30,000 that would have to come from the village,” he said.
Reluctantly, the village sought bids for the truck. There were no takers. “We were asking for $5,000,” he said. “I wish I could have had a collector come in and grab it. Unless someone comes in to take it, a piece of history will be going to the scrap yard. I’ll hate to see it go.”
Maloy said he’s in no hurry to junk the vintage apparatus and is willing to hold onto the truck for a little while longer.
“I’ll leave it here until about October,” he said. “After that it’s going to the junk heap. I’d probably take a dollar if someone offered to take it off my hands,” he said with a joke.
Anyone interested in acquiring the snorkel should contact Maloy at the Bedford Park Fire Department. His number is 708-563-4510
Thanks Dan
Larry Shapiro photo
Karl Klotz visited the Bedford Park Fire Department and spoke with Chief Sean Maloy about the restoration project that they have underway of their 1959 Snorkel.
The unit is a 1959 GMC/Pierce/ 65′ Pitman Snorkel. This was the first Pitman Snorkel built. It was designed for the Chicago Fire Dept, but refused due to the overall length and tandem axle. The Bedford Park Fire Department made an offer and subsequently purchased the vehicle.Bill Freidrich collection
Snorkel 5 (later re-numbered 712) entered service in Bedford Park in 1959 and served until 1979 when it was replaced by the Seagrave Snorkel 705.Jack Connors photo
In 1979, it was passed down to the public works department where it was used by the street light division until approximately 1995. From that point on, it sat in the back parking lot of public works unused.Currently it is sitting inside Bedford Park Station 1, where it is in the process of a complete overhaul. Mechanical work is being performed by the fire department mechanical staff in house. After completion of the mechanical work, it is slated to go to Automotive Mentoring Group (AMG) for body repair and refinishing.Karl Klotz photo
The project is being funded in part by the BPFD Foreign Fire Board and the Village of Bedford Park.
From another reader:
“Hey recently, I visited Bedford Park Station #1 and observed a work of love in progress. The Bedford Park Fire Department finally brought home their very first Snorkel, which has been left outside their public works yard rotting away for over 20 years, to start a desperately needed refurbishing. Some mechanical work will be performed in-house with bodywork to be completed at a local business. For those that do not know, this Snorkel is of historical significance, as it was the very first Snorkel actually produced by the Pitman Company for the fire service. It is rumored that this Snorkel was spec’d out by the late Chicago Commissioner Quinn only to be rejected because of it’s overly long wheelbase, which would’ve proved too difficult to maneuver around the city streets. Bedford Park jumped at the chance and purchased it. Snorkel 5 is a 1960 GMC chassis with a V8 gas engine and manual transmission with a Pierce body.”
Karl Klotz photo
Karl Klotz photo
Karl Klotz photo
Karl Klotz photo
Karl Klotz photo
Dennis McGuire, Jr. submitted images of the Snorkel during it’s stay in the public works yard.
Dennis McGuire, Jr. photo
Dennis McGuire, Jr. photo
Dennis McGuire, Jr. photo
Dennis McGuire, Jr. photo
