Posts Tagged International

Thornton is on the site now

Karl Klotz has submitted photos and information for the Thornton Fire Department. This is another department in MABAS Division 24 which runs out of one station and covers 2.4 square miles. Aside from a full-time chief, Thornton relies on 30 part-time personnel to staff two Osage ambulances, two engines, one 50′ TeleSqurt, one rescue squad, and a brush rig.

They have a rather interesting mix of fire suppression vehicles. Of the four units, they have one each from Fire Max, Custom Fire, Hackney, and Pierreville (a Canadian builder). One engine is on an International chassis and the rescue has a Ford F800 chassis. The other engine features an early Spartan Gladiator cab and chassis, and the TeleSqurt has an HME 1871 cab and chassis. All the apparatus is red with the exception of Truck 747 which is painted a teal green. Karl tells us that there are several schools of thought as to the choice of color for this engine. One story apparently is that the color was the result of a contest with school children in the mid 1990s. We would be interested to know if this is the reason, or if there is another reason. Perhaps someone reading this blog has an answer. If so, please share it with us.

Thronton Fire Department HME Custom Fire TeleSqurt

Thornton Fire Department Spartan Pierreville engine

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Oak Brook Terrace is on the site

Oak Brook Terrace FPD patchAnother department in MABAS Division 12 has been added to the web site. The Oak Brook Terrace Fire District operates out of one station and covers a district of 2.5 square miles with a combination of full-time and part-time personnel. This station is packed with apparatus. They have two engines, a tower ladder, two ambulances, a TRT trailer, and a pickup. As mentioned in previous posts, they just put a brand new Spartan/Marion engine into service. This unit represents a transition for the department to black over red rigs from white over red. The other engine and tower ladder are both E-ONE units and the ambulances were built by Medtec.

Chicago is well known as the birthplace for the Snorkel’s use in the fire service, and the entire Chicago metropolitan area was a mecca for Snorkels. Units could be found with every boom length that was offered and built by several different body builders. Prior to purchasing the 95′ tower ladder from E-ONE in 1991, this department had an unusual 85′ Snorkel on a conventional GMC 7000 chassis. This was one of the only Snorkels in the area that was not built on a C-Series chassis from Ford, a cab-over International, or on a custom fire truck chassis.

Oak Brook Terrace Fire District station

The headquarters station for the Oak Brook Terrace Fire District. Larry Shapiro photo

Oak Brook Terrace Fire District E-ONE engine

Oak Brook Terrace FPD Snorkel

This 1964, 85' Pitman Snorkel preceded the the E-ONE tower ladder in Oak Brook Terrace. Shown here at their old stations, the body was built by Pierce on a GMC 7000 chassis with a V-12 engine. Snorkel 86, as it was known at the time, had a 1,000-GPM pump and carried 200 gallons of water. Larry Shapiro collection

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New apparatus coming to Evanston

It’s been several years since the Evanston Fire Department has replaced apparatus and now with the help of a grant and a donation from Northwestern University they are getting a new engine and a new tractor-drawn aerial (TDA). The engine was ordered from Pierce on an Arrow XT chassis with a 1500 GPM 2-stage pump a 500-gallon water tank. This will go to Engine 23 on Central Avenue. Engine 23’s rig will replace Engine 325 as a reserve piece. The new engine which is due in early September is a donation from the university. In recognition of the donation, there will be a plaque on the pump panel and a ‘Wildcat’ (the NU mascot) painted on the grille.

Evanston received a grant for a new TDA and they are in the process of going to bid on a 100′ TDA with independent suspension for both the tractor and trailer. This will replace Truck 22. The fire department is also hoping to get the go-ahead from the city to purchase a new tractor for their other TDA, Truck 23.

The last of the new apparatus orders is for a new ambulance. Reported to be on an International chassis, the new ambulance will be built by Medtec.

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