Dan Jasina photo of the former Westmont Pierce tower ladder in it’s new home in Highland Park, MI

Former Westmont tower ladder now in service in Highland Park, MI. Dan Jasina photo
thanks Josh
Oct 29
Posted by Admin in Fire Department History, Fire Truck photos | 4 Comments
Dan Jasina photo of the former Westmont Pierce tower ladder in it’s new home in Highland Park, MI
Former Westmont tower ladder now in service in Highland Park, MI. Dan Jasina photo
thanks Josh
Tags: Dan Jasina, fire truck photo, Highland Park Fire Department (MI), new home for used fire truck, new home for Westmont fire truck
Feb 15
Posted by Admin in Fire Department History, Historic fire apparatus | 12 Comments
This from Dan Jasina:
I toured the American LaFrance museum in North Charleston, SC on February 5, 2014. The first Chicago FD snorkel, a 1958 GMC/Pitman Mfg. was display. The apparatus was restored by Snorkel in 1988. This museum has the largest collection of fully restored American LaFrance apparatus in the country, hands-on interactive safety exhibits, and a children’s activity center.
Dan
Chicago’s original 1958 GMC/Pitman Snorkel on display as part of the American LaFrance Collection in North Charleston, SC. Dan Jasina photo
Tags: 1959 GMC/Pierce/ Pitman Snorkel 65, American LaFrance Museum, Chicago Fire Department history, Dan Jasina, first ever Pitman Snorkel, GMC Pitman Snorkel, Snorkels in the Chicago Fire Department
Apr 15
Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, Fire Service News, Reader submission | Comments off
Dan Jasina from Michigan forwarded this link to a short video of The Christopher Wheatley passing Detroit today in choppy waters.
Tags: Chicago Fire Boat The Christopher Wheatley, Chicago Fire Department, Dan Jasina
Apr 13
Posted by bgshap in Fire Department History, Fire Department News, Fire Service News, New Delivery | 4 Comments
Dan Jasina from Michigan found another article on the new fire boat with photos and a video. The entire article can be found HERE with excerpts below:
The vessel represents more than a year of work for Hike Metal Products Ltd. and its more than 20 workers. It’s the largest boat the Wheatley ship builder has sent out of the harbour in four or five years and is larger than a fire boat built in 2007 for Baltimore.
On Friday morning the Chicago fire boat will leave the harbour and could be passing down the Detroit River that afternoon. It will head through Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan before reaching Chicago Sunday night, if the weather co-operates.
The boat carries the Wheatley name in a touching coincidence that surprised fire officials in Chicago and the ship builders here.
The fire boat is called the Christopher Wheatley for a 31-year-old Chicago firefighter who died Aug. 9 in the line of duty. He was carrying equipment up a fire escape during a restaurant fire when he fell to his death.
His father Daniel Wheatley said after the Chicago Fire Department told him the city’s replacement fire boat would be commissioned in his son’s name, he asked about who was building the boat. When he looked up Hike Metal’s website and saw the location he was stunned. He travelled to Wheatley in March to see the boat and the village.
Not many firefighters in Chicago know what name the fire boat will bear when it arrives. Hike Metal officials found out about the coincidence four months ago when they asked what name to put on the boat.
Company president Andy Stanton said Wheatley’s not a common name and he’s pleased a hero will carry the Wheatley name out of the harbour. “We were very surprised.”
The Christopher Wheatley is a heavy duty fire boat designed to break up to 12 inches of ice so it can operate year-round.
It can be used with scuba divers, for rescues, for firefighting with foam or water and as a pumping station to supplement the city’s firemain supply of water. It can be run with a crew of five or up to 10 when fighting a fire. It has a kitchen, washroom and crew accommodations below decks.
One of the four monitor nozzles sits on a platform that can be elevated 30 feet and the force of the spray will be enough to blast brick off the side of a building, Stanton said.
To be able to pass underneath low bridges, the boat was built so the mast comes down and it sits no more than 16 feet out of the water. It has four engines, two for the water pumps and two 1,500 horsepower propulsion engines to drive the boat. It can travel at 12 knots or at three knots through ice.
Dan submitted photos that we posted HERE.
Chicago's new fire boat sits completed and ready to head out in a week. Dan Jasina photo
Tags: Chicago Fire Boat, Chicago Fire Boat The Christopher Wheatley, Chicago Fire Department, Christopher Wheatley, Dan Jasina, Hike Metal Products, The Christopher Wheatley Fire Boat, Wheatley Ontario
Apr 9
Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, Fire Service News, Reader submission | 14 Comments
Dan Jasina and a group of Detroit buffs were at Hike Metal Products in Wheatley, Ontario today and took a bunch of photos of Chicago’s new fire boat. The boat is scheduled to leave Wheatley this Friday, April 15, for its maiden voyage to Chicago. Dan submitted several images of the boat.
Chicago's new fire boat sits completed and ready to head out in a week. Dan Jasina photo
A profile of the boat shows it's full length. Dan Jasina photo
The rear of the boat shows a turret gun perched on a platform above the deck. Dan Jasina photo
Inside the deckhouse is the command center. Dan Jasina photo
Three water cannons are mounted at the bow of the boar. Dan Jasina photo
A closeup of the rear mounted water cannon which is capable of putting out 3,000 gallons per minute from a platform that can rise 30 feet in the air. Dan Jasina photo
Tags: Chicago Fire Boat, Chicago Fire Department, Dan Jasina, Detroit fire buffs, Hike Metal Products
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