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History of Evanston Fire Department – Part 6

Jan 31

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History | 1 Comment

More from Phil Stenholm:

At 4 AM on Saturday morning, September 14, 1889, fire struck the brand-new J. J. Foster Building (stores and apartments) at the northeast corner of Church & Benson. With Fire Marshal Sam Harrison absent from the village, former EFD Chief W. R. “Bob” Bailey took command, assisted by several former members of the legendary Pioneer Fire Company.

A main broke after water-pressure was increased, causing the direct-pressure system to be ineffective. With very low water-pressure, firefighters were unable to get enough water on the fire, and the blaze communicated to the 2nd Baptist Church chapel to the north and threatened Haven School to the east. (The original Haven School was located at the northwest corner of Church & Sherman). Bailey called for assistance from both the South Evanston and Chicago fire departments. The fire was finally extinguished after a Chicago F. D. engine company arrived with a steam fire engine, but not before $25,000 worth of damage.  

On Saturday, December 26, 1891, Evanston firefighters battled a blaze in a barn situated behind the French House. (Located at the northwest corner of Hinman & Greenwood, the French House was one of Evanston’s two hotels at the time). The barn and its contents were quickly destroyed, and high winds threatened to extend the fire to several surrounding homes, as well as to the hotel itself. Chief Harrison called for assistance from neighboring towns, and firefighters from the Village of South Evanston, the Village of Rogers Park, and the City of Chicago responded.

Although the assistance provided by the South Evanston and Rogers Park fire departments was appreciated, it was the steam fire engine from the Chicago F. D. (Engine Co. 55, under the command of Capt. Galbraith) that made the difference. Supplying three 2-1/2 inch hose lines, Engine 55 made quick work of the battle, and the neighborhood was saved.

The Village of Evanston (population 12,072) annexed the Village of South Evanston (population 3,205) in 1892, forming what is known today as the “City of Evanston.” The Village of South Evanston’s waterworks had failed during 1891, and Evanston would only provide water to South Evanston if its residents agreed to annexation… which they did, albeit reluctantly.

Evanston’s firefighting force was increased from four men to seven, and the position of Fire Marshal was made full-time (and the Fire Marshal’s annual salary was increased from $200 to $1,000) after the annexation. The annual salary for Evanston’s “line” firefighters was increased from $480 to $600 in 1893.

The fire & police departments moved into the new city hall at the northwest corner of Davis & Sherman in 1893. The fire department was evicted from the facility in 1897 however, amid complaints from fellow city hall occupants regarding residual smoke from the fire department’s steam fire engine, and the sickening odor caused by the stabling of the EFD’s horses inside the building.     

Lincoln Avenue is what Main Street was called at the time Evanston annexed South Evanston in 1892, and by 1894, the street name still hadn’t been changed. The Lincoln Avenue schoolhouse was the only school in South Evanston at the time. It was located at the southeast corner of Lincoln & Benson (Main & Elmwood), the future site of Central School, and consisted of the original school building (a three-story brick structure — two floors plus attic, with a full basement), and an attached annex (wood-frame & brick) that was built in 1890.

This incident occurred on the first day of Spring (Wednesday, March 21, 1894) at 10:20 AM.

“SOBS AND MOANS FILLED THE AIR AS THE FLOOR WHERE THE CHILD WAS LAST SEEN BROKE AND CRASHED DOWNWARD. BUT THEY WERE SUDDENLY CHANGED TO SHOUTS OF JOY AS BRAVE SAM HARRISON AND GEORGE HARGREAVES CAME INTO VIEW BEARING THE LIMP FORM OF THE CHILD FOR WHOM THEY HAD RISKED THEIR LIVES. THEIR FACES WERE BLACKENED AND THE BLOOD WAS RUNNING FROM A PAINFUL WOUND IN HARRISON’S HAND.

THEY FOUND THE CHILD IN ONE OF THE AISLES, LYING FACE DOWNWARD. THE SMOKE WAS SO THICK THAT IT WAS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THEY RETAINED STRENGTH TO REACH THE DOORWAY LEADING TO THE STAIRS. ONCE HARRISON FELL, BUT FORTUNATELY RETAINED HIS SENSES. IT WAS THEN THAT HE INJURED HIS HAND.

JUST AS THEY REACHED THE HALL OF THE REAR ANNEX, THE FLOOR AREA OVER WHICH THEY HAD GROPED WENT DOWN. HAD THEY BEEN A MOMENT LATER, BOTH RESCUERS AND GEORGE HARGREAVES MUST HAVE PERISHED.”

Chicago Herald, March 22, 1894.

Fire destroyed the school, but all of the children were rescued, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Evanston firefighters (Sam Harrison and George Hargreaves in particular) and an expressman named Sam Mack. Mack was passing by the school en route to the South Evanston C&NW RR depot when he noticed smoke pouring from the school’s windows, and children crawling out onto a second floor ledge. Mack calmly directed the children to jump into his arms to escape the flames, repeating the drill until the arrival of the Evanston Fire Department. Chicago F. D. Engine Co. 70 assisted Evanston firefighters in quelling the blaze. 

The Lincoln Avenue schoolhouse fire would stand for more than ten years as the single worst fire in Evanston’s history, until the Mark Manufacturing Company fire of December 1905.

In the aftermath of the Lincoln Avenue schoolhouse fire, the Evanston City Council gave the EFD virtual carte blanche to improve its operations. Chief Harrison successfully lobbied for acquisition of a fire alarm telegraph, with placement of fire alarm boxes on street corners to provide citizens with the means to report a fire quickly. In the case of the Lincoln Avenue schoolhouse fire, a citizen ran three blocks to report the fire in person at Fire Station # 2 on Chicago Ave..

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Evanston Fire Department history – Part 2

Jan 19

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History | 1 Comment

More Evanston Fire Department history from Phil Stenholm:

On May 2, 1875, the EFD responded to an early-morning blaze at the First Presbyterian Church at Lake & Chicago  Although firemen arrived promptly, the structure was lost, mainly because of a communication mix-up between firefighters at the scene and the engineer on duty at the Waterworks engine-house. Firefighters believed water-pressure was being increased when they heard what they thought was an acknowledgment from the Waterworks engineer (it was actually a whistle from a C&NW RR train), so by the time a messenger was sent on horseback to the engine-house, the church was destroyed.

Later that month, a telegraph connection was established between the village hall and the Waterworks. Even with improved communication (telephones replaced the telegraph in the 1880s), the fire at the First Presbyterian Church was not to be the only instance where poor communication between firefighters and a Waterworks engineer would give a black eye to the EFD. Meanwhile, the First Presbyterian Church was rebuilt on the same site, only to be destroyed by fire again in February 1894.

The Evanston Fire Department was legally established by ordinance on May 25, 1875 and took effect on May 29th, once it was published in the newspaper. The ordinance was only a technicality, however, as the origin of the fire department certainly was January 7, 1873, the night the Village Board of Trustees accepted the Pioneer Fire Company for service. 

The C. J. Gilbert Hose Company was organized in January 1875 and after a six-month period of evaluation was accepted for service by the village board in August 1875, joining Pioneer Hose Company No. 1 as one of Evanston’s two volunteer hose companies.

The Pioneers and the Gilberts were each assigned one hand-drawn, two-wheeled, one-axle hose cart (one built by Silsby, the other by G. W. Hannis), 1000 feet of 2-1/2 inch hose, an assortment of nozzles, related tools and equipment. Gilbert Hose Company foreman William Gamble, a local grocer, served as village Fire Marshal from November 1876 to May 1878. Pioneer Fire Company foreman (and butcher) W. R. “Bob” Bailey served as Fire Marshal from May 1878 to July 1883. Bailey’s Meat Market & Ice House was one of the shops destroyed in the Willard Block fire of 1872.

From January 1875 to April 1881, the Evanston Fire Department consisted of just the two volunteer hose companies. All of the apparatus, equipment, and gear were owned by the village. Both companies maintained their apparatus and held their respective monthly meetings on the first floor of the village hall. Each company gave its own Firemen’s Ball each year, the Pioneers on St. Patrick’s Day, and the Gilberts on New Year’s Eve. Which was the better party has been lost to antiquity.

Company officers included the foreman who was the company commander, a 1st assistant foreman, a 2nd assistant foreman, a 3rd assistant foreman, a secretary, and a treasurer. All company officers were elected annually by the members of the company, and new members were allowed to join only after receiving the approval of company members. Most of the members of the two companies were Evanston merchants or their employees.

Pioneer Hose Company, No. 1 was considered one of the elite hose companies in Illinois, and frequently competed in musters with other fire companies. The Pioneers had fancy uniforms featuring navy blue caps, red flannel shirts with black trim and a number “1” on the front, and black belts with white trim. They took their pick of new equipment acquired by the village, and usually got their “man” installed as the village fire marshal. Conversely, the C. J. Gilbert Hose Company, formed by a cadre of renegade outcasts from the Pioneer Fire Company, did NOT participate in state musters, did NOT have fancy uniforms, and were considered the “poor step-brothers” of the EFD.

As in many volunteer fire departments of the day, Evanston’s two hose companies were friendly rivals, and each enjoyed nothing better than blasting the other with water after extinguishing a “good fire.” They also would race each other to be first on scene, first with water on the fire, and first to extinguish the flames. Unfortunately, the Village Board of Trustees would sometimes play one company off against the other, by appointing one company’s foreman as the village fire marshal, or by distributing new equipment to one company but not to the other. And the Gilberts were usually the ones that got the short end of the pike pole.

Although fires in Evanston were rare, and big fires even more rare, the Pioneers and the Gilberts did have their moments, especially during the night of January 2, 1879. At 9 PM, firefighters responded in bitter cold (supposedly minus-20 degrees) to a report of a fire at Dempster Hall dormitory on the campus of Northwestern University. Constructed in 1854, Dempster Hall was one of the oldest structures in the village. Three hours later, the vacant residence hall stood gutted, and firefighters were frozen and exhausted. students were on Christmas Vacation at the time.

There was no rest for the weary, however, as the Pioneers and the Gilberts responded to another reported fire at 2 AM, this time at the Northwestern Gas Light & Coke Company (the “gasworks”) at Clark & Maple. Coal sheds, several tons of coal, and 20 barrels of tar were destroyed before firefighters quelled the conflagration. The companies then turned the hose streams on each other. Fortunately, today’s Evanston firefighters are not so childish…

Two more significant fires occurred during early 1879, both on the West Ridge in the vicinity of Church & Wesley. The first destroyed the home of Northwestern University Professor Kistler — where firefighters lost the house but saved the furniture and library, and the other destroyed the palatial domicile of real estate king Charles Browne, the founder of North Evanston, although firemen once again saved the furniture and library, as well as two nearby homes. The fires of ‘79 caused much agitation within the EFD, as both companies demanded some form of financial compensation, as well as additional equipment (play-pipes and hose) and clothing (coats, gloves, and boots) from the village trustees.

The village board did subsequently acquire coats, gloves, and boots, but not enough for both of the companies. The trustees gave EFD Chief Bob Bailey, one-time foreman of Pioneer Hose Company No. 1, the job of allocating the gear, and (surprise!) all of it went to the Pioneers. As one might imagine, the Gilberts were not happy campers. The trustees then acquired a new play-pipe, and this time the Pioneers offered to stage a muster with the Gilberts at the town picnic on July 4th, with the winner to take possession of the new appliance. The Gilberts refused, probably because they did not want to establish the precedent of competing with the Pioneers for gear and equipment, so the Pioneers kept the play-pipe.

By failing to compete with the Pioneers at the picnic however, the Gilberts became a town joke. In an attempt to restore their dignity, the Gilberts challenged the Pioneers to a muster later that summer. The two companies agreed to meet (or “muster”) on the afternoon of August 21, 1879.

Several hundred enthusiastic spectators lined University Place on a very hot summer Thursday afternoon. Gambling was rampant, with several side-wagers amongst the firemen themselves. Despite completing the run in 63.5 seconds  and besting their own state record, the Pioneers were disqualified by the judges on a technicality. The Gilberts were awarded the upset victory. The Pioneers protested, claiming the local judges either did not understand state tournament rules, had been bribed, or both, but the Gilbert victory stood.

On December 31, 1880 (New Year’s Eve), the Pioneers and Gilberts engaged in a far more difficult contest, the second blaze to strike the opulent home of prominent village resident John H. Kedzie in seven years. As was often the case in cold weather, many firemen missed the alarm because they couldn’t hear the fire-bell with their windows closed. Those who did respond fought a long, hard battle against flames buried within the walls of the home, saving the furniture, but ultimately losing the house. Harry Housel, one of the members of Pioneer Hose Company No. 1, contracted a respiratory infection either during or shortly after this fire, an infection that eventually lead to his death by “consumption” (tuberculosis) at the age of 24 in April 1882, after the Pioneer Hose Company had disbanded.

The Kedzie fire seemed to light a fuse inside the fire companies, leading once again to demands for financial compensation and improved clothing and equipment for Evanston’s firefighters. After their pleas were ignored, the two hose companies resigned en masse on May 23, 1881. The era of volunteer firefighting in Evanston would end with a whimper.

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Evanston Fire Department history

Jul 16

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History, Historic fire apparatus, Reader submission | 1 Comment

This from Phil Stenholm:

Evanston Fire Department – The Origin of the Companies

ENGINE Co. 21
Organized as a part-time (paid) fire company – July 28, 1883
Accepted for service – November 6, 1883
Established as a full-time (paid) company – June 5, 1888
Designated “Engine Co. 1” – June 1895
Re-designated “Engine Co. 21”- 1952

ENGINE Co. 22
Organized as full-time (paid) hose company at Station #2 – June 6, 1892
Designated “Hose Co. 2” – January 1900
Re-designated “Truck Co. 2” – February 15, 1903
Re-designated “Engine Co. 2” – February 15, 1911
Re-designated “Engine Co. 22” – 1952

ENGINE Co. 23
Organized as “Hose Co. 3” at Station #3 – January 31, 1901
Re-designated “Truck Co. 3” – July 1907
Re-designated “Engine Co. 3” – January 2, 1912
Re-designated “Engine Co. 23” – 1952

TRUCK Co. 21
Organized as ”Truck Co. 1” at Station #1 – February 15, 1903
Combined with Engine Co. 1 – January 2, 1912 Reorganized as “Truck Co. 1” – November 1917
Re-designated “Truck Co. 21” – 1952
Relocated to Station #3 and re-designated “Truck Co. 23” – 1990

TRUCK Co. 22
Organized as “Truck Co. 2” at Station #1 – September 1, 1924
Re-designated “Truck Co. 22” – 1952
Relocated to Fire Station #2 – March 12, 1955

ENGINE Co. 24
Organized as “Engine Co. 4” at Station #2 – November 1927
Relocated to Station # 4 – December 31, 1927
Re-designated “Engine Co. 24” – 1952

ENGINE Co. 25
Organized as “Engine Co. 5” at Station #1 – November 1927
Re-designated “Engine Co. 25” – 1952
Relocated to Station # 5 – September 3, 1955

TRUCK Co. 23
Organized as “Truck Co. 23” at Station #3 – September 3, 1955
Disbanded (personnel used to organize Squad Co. 21) – January 1, 1963
Truck Co. 21 relocated to Station #3/re-designated “Truck Co. 23” – 1990

SQUAD Co. 21
Apparatus placed in service (staffed only when needed) – September 1952
Organized as “Squad Co. 21” at Station #1 – January 1, 1963
Disbanded (apparatus staffed only when needed) – 1977

OTHER FIRE COMPANIES THAT SERVED EVANSTON

PIONEER FIRE COMPANY (volunteer)
Organized – January 4, 1873
Chartered – January 6, 1873
Accepted for service – January 7, 1873 Designated “Pioneer Hose Company, No. 1” – December 1874
Disbanded (by mass resignation) – May 23, 1881

C. J. GILBERT HOSE COMPANY (volunteer) Organzied/Chartered – January 1875
Accepted for Service – August 6, 1875
Disbanded (by mass resignation) – May 23, 1881

EVANSTON HOOK & LADDER COMPANY (volunteer) Organized/Chartered – September 7, 1880
Accepted for Service – April 21, 1881
Disbanded (by Fire Marshal) – July 28, 1883

SOUTH EVANSTON FIRE COMPANY (volunteer)
Orrganized – July 16, 1888
Disbanded (by Fire Marshal) – June 6, 1892
(Served with Village of South Evanston Fire Department prior to annexation of Village of South Evanston by Village of Evanston in 1892)

NORTH EVANSTON FIRE COMPANY (volunteer/auxiliary) Organized – October 1, 1888
Disbanded (by Fire Marshal) – January 31, 1901

So Truck Co. 22 (as it presently exists) was not actually organized until 1924. What is confusing about the bench is that Hose Co. 2 was re-designated Truck Co. 2 1902-1911 because the company operated with a 1902 Seagrave combination truck (light-duty H&L/chemical-engine/hose wagon) during that period of time, and then Truck Co. 2 was re-designated Engine Co. 2 in 1911 when the 1895 Ahrens steamer (the old Engine 1 that had been in reserve since 1906) was placed into service at Station #2 when sufficient manpower was finally hired to staff it.

Likewise, Hose Co. 3 was re-designated Truck Co. 3 in 1907 when the 1884 Davenport H&L (ex-Truck 1) was placed into service at Station #3, and then the company was re-deginated Engine Co. 3 in 1912 when the 1895 Ahrens steamer was placed into service at Station #3 (as the 1911 Robinson 700-GPM TCP was placed into service with Engine Co. 1 and the 1906 American LaFrance 700 GPM steamer formerly in service with Engine Co. 1 was moved to Station #2).

1912 APPARATUS:

STATION #1 (807 Grove Street):

ENGINE 1 : 1911 Robinson 700-GPM TCP (automobile)
TRUCK 1: 1907 American-LaFrance 85-ft HDA (four horses)
CHEMICAL 1: 1873 Babcock double 50-gal chemical-engine (two horses)
CHIEF’S BUGGY (two horses)

STATION #2 (750 Chicago Avenue):

ENGINE 2: 1906 American LaFrance 700 GPM steamer (three horses)
TRUCK 2: 1902 Seagrave combination truck (H&L and chemical-engine), with hose box installed in 1907 (two horses)

STATION #3 (2504 West Railroad Avenue):

ENGINE 3: 1895 Ahrens 600 GPM steamer (two horses)
TRUCK 3 : 1884 Davenport H&L, with hose box installed in 1907 (two horses)

(The hose wagons at Stations 2 & 3 were taken out of service in 1907 when the trucks at those stations had hose boxes installed, providing four horses for the new aerial-ladder truck).

1918 APPARATUS (after motorization):

STATION #1:

ENGINE Co. 1:
ENGINE 1: 1917 Seagrave 750 GPM TCP

TRUCK Co. 1:
TRUCK 1: 1917 Seagrave city-service H&L (no aerial-ladder)

ENGINE 4 (reserve): 1911 Robinson 750-GPM TCP

CHIEF’s BUGGY:
1917 Haynes automobile

ENGINE Co. 2 (two-piece company):
ENGINE 2: 1918 Seagrave tractor pulling 1906 American LaFrance 700 GPM steamer
TRUCK 2: 1917 Seagrave 300-GPM TCP

ENGINE 3: 1917 Seagrave 300-GPM TCP
NOTE: The 1907 American LaFrance 85-ft HDA that had been in service as Truck 1 was demolished in a collision with an Evanston Railway Co. street car at Grove & Sherman in 1916, and it was not replaced (the city had neglected to insure it for its replacement value). When the bond issue to motorize the Fire Dept. was originally framed in 1916 (prior to the H&L crash), the EFD was going to acquire a tractor for the H&L (justr as it did for 1906 American LaFrance steamer), but ended up getting a city-service truck (with no aerial ladder) instead.

The city purchased a Seagrave 85-ft TDA in 1924 after an NBFU inspection report said they had to have one. (This was the same report that recommended Station #4 be constructed at Dempster & Dodge).

The new Seagrave TDA became Truck 1, and the former Truck 1 (the 1917 Seagrave city-service truck) became Truck 2 as Truck Co. 2 was organized at Station #1 in September 1924. As I mentioned, Truck Co. 2 was supposed to be relocated to Station #4 on the west-side, but it never was.

NOTE: Two 1927 Seagrave Standard 1000-GPM TCP were purchased, Fire Station #4 was constructed, and the EFD was expanded from 61 to 82 firemen, after Evanston voters approved a bond issue in 1927 (following the Boltwood School fire in January) and the two new engines went into service as Engine 2 and Engine 5 (as Engine Co. 4 and Engine Co. 5 were organized), with Engine Co. 2’s former apparatus (plus furtniture, kitchen utensils, and personnel) going to the new Station #4.

Engine 4 (the tractorized steamer that was Engine 2 1918-27) was taken out of service in 1930 when the 300-GPM booster-pumper that ran with the steamer had a new 500-GPM pump installed at the Seagrave factory in Ohio.

Two Seagrave 750-GPM pumpers (the new Engine 1 & Engine 3) and one Seagrave 65-ft service aerial-ladder truck (the new Truck 2) were purchased after 1937 bond issue was passed by Evanston voters, with the old Engine 1 (1917 Seagrave 750-GPM TCP) going to Station #4 at that time.

A Seagrave 1000-GPM TCP was placed into service as Engine 1 in 1949, with the old Engine 1 (1937 Seagrave 750-GPM TCP) going to Station #4.

And then the Pirsch fleet was acquired in 1951-52 (Truck 1 in ’51, the other four in ’52), with the old Truck 1 tractor being converted to a Chicago FD-style high-pressure wagon (with large-diameter hose and a turret nozzle mounted mid-ship). This rig was known as Squad 22 while it was in service (1952-65).

The 1937 Seagrave 65-ft service aerial ladder truck (ex-Truck 2) was placed into serice as Truck 23 in 1955, but the company was disbanded and personnel was transferred to Squad 21 (which then went into full-service as a regular company) at the end of 1962 after the city council refused to appropriate funds to buy a new ladder truck for Station #3.

Two Seagrave 1000-GPM TCP open-cab engines (Engine 23 and Engine 24) were placed into service in 1958, replacing the two 1937 Seagrave 750-GPM TCPs which were then placed into reserve.

The Squad 21 rig (1952 Pirsch) was replaced in 1966. The city purchased an extra International-Harvester garbage truck chassis for the Fire Dept, and the chassis was sent to the General Body Co. in Chicago to be built as a squad-engine. A pump, water tank, and squad body was installed with hose beds (there were no hose beds on the ’52 Pirsch squad), as well as a turret nozzle, and a front-bumper mounted winch.

Squad 21 was the SS1 of the Evanston Fire Dept while it was in service in 1960’s and 70’s. It was first-due on just about everything, handling inhalator calls, car fires and trash fires, and engine details in Station 1’s still district, it went to all fires anywhere in the city, responded to pin-in extrication calls, and its manpower operated the DUKW (F-7) for rescues on Lake Michigan. It was going all the time.

The old Squad 21 (1952 Pirsch) had its squad body removed and replaced with a new standard pumper body in 1966 (its pump had almost never been used because it only carried a hose reel), and it was in front-line service for quite a long time as an engine, first as Engine 22 1966-70, and then as Engine 25 1970-76. Last time I was in Evanston (which was a few years ago) it was playground equipment in the park at the northwest corner of Asbury & South Blvd.

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