Final installment of our four part series on the apparatus and equipment at the CFD Special Operations warehouse.
Chicago Fire Department Special Operations Battalion Chief 5-1-5. It is a 2009 Ford Expedition #B-545 and is quartered with Engine 5. Larry Shapiro photo
One of four Chicago Fire Department Special Operations POD storage units. Larry Shapiro photo
Special Operations Komatsu fork lift with shop ID #S-053. Larry Shapiro photo
Special Operations maintains this 2008 Bobcat unit with Shop ID# S-119. Larry Shapiro photo
Special Operations maintains these two 2004 Cub Cadet units. One is a mini pumper (S-097), and the other is a utility unit (S-087). Larry Shapiro photo
Special Operations also maintains these two 2004 Cub Cadet units. Both are utility units. (S-100 and S-096). Larry Shapiro photo
Items that were not photographed include 2 wave Runner jet skis, a John Boat, and a large portable pump unit.
View Part 1 of CFD Special Operations
#1 by 9 man squad on June 1, 2016 - 7:27 PM
What MABAS equipment does the cfd have?
#2 by Dave on March 23, 2014 - 12:04 PM
Thanks, its a great site but when you open it on smugmug it just says “these are not the photos you are looking for”
tried several computers as I thought it was my browser but its the same on all, the site may be down for service, hope all is well as this is one of the best and I know Bill puts a lot of time into keeping it up to date
#3 by Midwest Medic on March 22, 2014 - 11:36 PM
dgfd.smugmug.com/
If I’m not mistaken it used to have 147 in the web address. This site should work.
#4 by Dave on March 22, 2014 - 5:22 AM
Anyone having problems with Bills dgfd147 website? can,t get it to open.
#5 by Bill Post on December 20, 2013 - 10:52 AM
That’s quite alright Phil you helped fill in more specific details that I didn’t have. It was really an odd ball one of a kind rig but fit in just right where it was needed. I ran into it several times during the first year or two that it was around. In the summer of 1967 I saw it one evening in Rogers Park near the inter section Ashland and Greenleaf There was a 4-11 alarm at the church on the northwest corner and apparently it was running a part of SS 3 but I had no idea where the other part was? SS 3 was probably running a with a spare Engine or perhaps it’s Internationl Harvester Fog Pressure at the time however the GMC/Timco really was stood out.
I was trying myself to pin down the GMC /Timco at Battalion 18. I was narrowing it down to sometime around the Martin Luther King riots in the Spring of 1968 yet because of its Meigs Field service and it use as a Spare rig for SS3 and some Fog Pressures I couldn’t quite pin it down.
By the way I was off by a year as it must have been at the 1967 Livestock show that I had saw the GMC Timco, however I was at the 1967 Auto Show at the Amphitheater and that is where I first saw the GMC Timco and the Original (424) Cortez Communications Van was there on display for the crowds to see. It’s funny because I remember that so well that I remember picking up a black and white hand out describing the new 441 Helicopter (with the pontoons).
As you know the Fog Pressures really didn’t last long and even though they had put 12 of them in service by late 1966 they already had started reassigning them in late 1967 and most of them were out of service by the early 70’s with the exception of Fog Pressure 2,31 A and 442 A and of course SS I A.
It’s funny as to how the old 18th Battalion had bordered with so many other Battalions and while it only had a handful of stations and fire companies that were actually under it administration there were many more companies that responded with it. For example Engine 95 and Truck 26 was on literally speaking on the 23rd Battalions side of the border with Battalion 18 and Engine 77 was only barely a block from the border of Battalions 23 , 18 and of course Battalion 28 where it was actually located in and administratively assigned to.
As you know the companies assigned to the 18th Battalion were Engine 44,85,24 and 105 and they only had Truck 36 assigned to it but of course that was only administratively because the 18th Battalion shared borders with the 24th,23rd,28th,15th,7th,6th,5th and even the 4th Battalion up until the around 1969 when Battalions 5, 6 and 9 were taken out of service.
As you also know by 1966 Engines 77 and 95 both had Fog Pressures that were assigned to their stations and Engine 24 (just east of Engine 44) also had Fog Pressure 8 with them. Battalion 18 had plenty of Fog Pressures nearby. However both Engine 77 and 95 had received amongst the first of the C cab booster equipped pumpers in late 1967 their Fog Pressures were relocated and I know that for a short time Fog Pressure 5 (from Engine 95’s quarters) had been reassigned to of all places Engine 22 in 1968. That was well before Engine 22’s new house was built. The Fog Pressures were really being shifted to Engine stations that didn’t have booster tanks yet but it was like playing musical chairs because the assignments kept changing and shifting. So it had to be around then that Battalion 18 was using the GMC Timco as Engine 44’s house was a tight fit and they couldn’t accommodate both a Fog Pressure and a Battalion Chief as was proven when Battalion 18 was relocated to Truck 36 when Engine 66 was doubled up with Engine 44 for almost 9 months.
Speaking about fire station proposals , the original 1963/64 Maatman report had recommended a new station for Engine 44 at Kedzie and Madison and that an addition be built for Engine 85 at Truck 36’s old station (near Kedzie and Huron but in the 1968 report the recommendation was for a larger addition to be built at Truck 36’s old station so that both Engine 44 and 85 and Battalion 18 would run out of Truck 36’s house.
In effect that finally happened about 13 years later when they opened the new station at Kinzie and Kedzie and of course Engine 85 lasted only two more years before being taken out of service.
#6 by Eric on December 20, 2013 - 9:42 AM
Bill & Phil,
Thanks so much! Incredible information; I could pick your brains for hours, but I guess I’ll spare you that.
#7 by Phil Stenholm on December 20, 2013 - 1:55 AM
BILL: Sorry. I didn’t see your post before I posted mine.
ERIC: What Bill said.
#8 by Phil Stenholm on December 20, 2013 - 1:53 AM
Timco was located in Columbus, OH, and was a subsidiary of Seagrave that fabricated metal and built custom pumper bodies (you can see the Seagrave nameplate on the left rear fender of the CFD rig in the photo).
The CFD GMC Timco-Seagrave “mini-pumper” booster rig (D-330) in the photo made its Chicago debut in February 1967, less than a month after the McCormick Place fire and several months before the CFD received its first dry chemical (DC) rig. Mayor Daley and Commissioner Quinn were understandably concerned about a potential conflagration at the Amphitheatre during a major trade show (as had happened at McCormick Place the previous month), and Timco sent the demo rig to Chicago specifically for the use of the CFD at the Auto Show. (It was also a chance for Timco to get some exposure).
The rig was assigned to Engine 59’s firehouse and was designated “Booster 1” (6-4-1) while it was there. It was staffed by an engineer and personnel from the Fire Prevention Bureau.
The CFD ended up purchasing the Timco demo in May ’67, and it was moved around quite a bit. It ran as one section of SS3 (still lettered “Booster 1”) for a while, but it was moved back to Engine 59 for the Livestock Show in 1967 & the Auto Show in February 1968. It was assigned as the 18th Battalion Chief’s buggy after the King riots in April 1968, and during the Chicago Democratic National Convention in August 1968, the Timco was assigned to one of the two booster companies (6-4-1 & 6-4-2) that were temporarily organized at Engine 59 (which was located across the street from the International Amphitheater).
Next stop for the Timco was Meigs Field, where it was assigned as the new Chemical 4 (6-3-4), replacing the 1943 Pirsch/Dodge Power Wagon that had been at Meigs for many years. The Timco Chemical 4 was at Meigs Field for only about four or five years before it was replaced sometime in the mid-1970’s by Dry Chemical 3 (which was moved up to Meigs from Lake Calumet Harbor) and Fog Pressure 442-A (ex-SS1-A).
#9 by Bill Post on December 20, 2013 - 12:37 AM
Eric that “Mini pumper” which was a 1966 GMC/Timco wasn’t quite a Fog Pressure but was really a mini/booster /foam pumper and was very similar to the Fog Pressure except that it also carried some foam and possibly Dry Chemical on board as well. At least one of the booster lines did have a foam nozzle that was capable of foam applications. They used it wherever it was needed and it sometimes would be used as if it were a spare fog pressure unit.
It was initially lettered as “Booster 1” even though I don’t think that it kept that identity very long. I remember seeing it several times when it was brand new and they did use it at least one or twice for the International Live Stock show and Exposition and Rodeo as part of the Fire Protection detail.
The International Live Stock show was held every November for about 2 weeks at the International Amphitheater about 4400 S Halsted. The Chicago Fire Department would usually detail a few pieces of apparatus to Exposition and they would be located in the exhibition hall. The detailed apparatus would usually be a couple of Fog Pressure wagons that had 300 gallon water tanks and they would usually detail Engine 59 who were located just north of the Amphitheater across Exchange avenue. As the GMC /Timco had both foam and water on board they decided to break it in that way and show it off. They detailed it there for the 1966 show.
Chicago’s Snorkel Squad 3 which was in service from May 16th 1965 until May 1st 1969had lost the use of it’s assigned Snorkel permanently when the it’s 1958 GMC/Pitman Snorkel truck got stuck in a snowdrift during the Great Blizzard of January 26/27 ,1967. At least during the summer of 1967 Snorkel Squad 3 was using the GMC/Timco foam pumper as it’s second piece. Even though Snorkel Squad 3 ran without a Snorkel from January 26/27th 1967 until May !st 1969 it didn’t have it’s name changed until the last 6 months that it was in service. During December of 1968 it was finally redesignated as Rescue company 3.
In early 1968 the GMC Timco was reassigned as Chemical wagon 4 (634) at Meigs Field Airport where it served until around November of 1973 not long after the new Rescue station at Meigs field was opened. It may have been reassigned to one of the other airports or could have become a reserve rig after that.
#10 by David on December 19, 2013 - 5:27 PM
@Eric: Not sure but I’d say that this “mini-pumper” was actually one of the old fog pressure rigs.
#11 by Eric on December 19, 2013 - 2:23 PM
This is also a bit off-topic, but does anyone know what the deal was with Battalion 18 having a mini-pumper? Image is the second one on this page: http://dgfd147.smugmug.com/CHICAGO-FIRE-DEPARTMENT/DOWN-MEMORY-LANE/ENGINES/28618583_ncttMJ/33
#12 by NJ on December 19, 2013 - 8:47 AM
Speaking of Ambo 86, now that CFD has ordered Type III rigs again, I wonder if they will spec a couple that will fit in 99’s quarters giving them a rig made in this millennium.
#13 by NJ on December 19, 2013 - 8:44 AM
Enlarging Engine 71’s quarters would be challenging given the lack of space. Engine 99 too has that issue. The only available space to use is the parking lot. The parking lots are very small to begin with.
#14 by tom sullivan on December 19, 2013 - 8:16 AM
in the late 1990’s , there was an e-12 put in service at O’Hare field in the old air force firehouse, known as rescue #4, the air force had just vacated the north end of the field and the city took over all the real estate. the “new” e-12 lasted only a few months before it was out out of service again and the house became a spare rig storage barn. during that time e-9 was moved from rescue #3 to rescue #1, bttn 12 (then, now 6) moved from rescue # 1to rescue #3. then in a few months they all moved back again ! now bttn 6 is “temporarily” at the “new” rescue #4 ( the “old” rescue 2,,,at the nw end of the field, confusing !) over the years the fire dept. operations at O’Hare have always been in a state of flux, sometimes it takes a while to get it settled in.
#15 by Bill Post on December 19, 2013 - 2:45 AM
Lfd435, for the time being it looks like O”Hare field is most likely to be getting the next fire station built. Around 2008 they had wanted enlarge Engine 71 and Engine 99’s stations which I’m sure that they wanted to do so that Engine 71 could accommodate and ambulance and so that Engine 99 would be able to accommodate state of art ambulances as opposed to a smaller model from the 1990’s that they do today.
The fire department didn’t officially do anything about those two proposed fire station expansions but it had been on a “wish list”. I don’t know if those proposals are still in their future plans or not..
#16 by Bill Post on December 19, 2013 - 1:37 AM
Lfd435 ,as far as new fire stations for Chicago there has been talk of building or rebuilding some of the fire stations at O”Hare Field. Some it would simply be relocating some existing stations due to the realignment and the building and opening of new runways. While I don’t have too many details on the plans for O”Hares Fire Stations I have recently heard that they may be building a New Station 1 which is currently on the south end of the Field in what is known as the “Cargo Area” off of Irving Park Road. They are supposed to be building a new Cargo Terminal and may need to rebuild or relocate Crash Rescue Station 1. I really don’t have more information on that.
As far as Engine 70’s station goes Tom Sullivan is correct as the fire station was actually built as Engines 70’s station and it is really Engine 59 that was the “new comer” to the area. Engine 59 had traditionally been a south side company at 818 W Exchange and was moved into Truck 47’s house on June 1st 1979. In reality the fire stations was owned by a private company that was involved with the old Chicago Union Stock Yards which had built the fire station for the fire department to lease in 1934 after the old station was destroyed in a major fire. The Union Stockyards was closed in 1971 however it the station had stayed open until 1979. The owners of the fire station had other uses for the building and since the Stockyards had been closed for nearly 8 years the former hazards that were associated with the old Stockyards weren’t quite the same.
Even though both Engine 70 and 59 share the station there are currently 2 separate first due still districts. Engine 70 is first due north of Peterson or Elmdale (east of Clark) and Engine 59 is first due south of those streets.
Engine 79’s old station is still standing on the southwest corner of Ashland and Balmoral.
There were several fire stations in that area (Edgewater , Andersonville, Uptown, Ravenswood and Lincoln Square and they were all within blocks of each other and not much over a mile apart from each other. Just as Truck 47 was located only a few blocks northeast of Engine 79 , Truck 22 was only about a half mile directly south of Engine 79 on Winnemac street just west of Ashland. Engine 128 and Battalion 20 was located only a mile south west of Truck 22 at 2100 W Eastwood and Engine 110 and Truck 43 were just over a mile west of Truck 22 on Foster east of Western. Engine 83 and Squad 4 were a little less then a mile south east at 1219 W Gunnison. Those 5 Stations were all located in the former 20th Battalion while Truck 47 was located in the old 27th Battalion as the border between those two Battalions was Bryn Mawr avenue.
Many of Chicago’s fire stations that were built from the mid 1960’s through the 1980’s were recommended by the Chicago Fire Departments consultant who had run the National Loss Control Service Corporation, Gerald Maatman who did three studies for the Chicago Fire Department. One in 1963/64 , one in 1968 and a follow up report in 1970/71.
In the 1968 study a new station was recommended for Engine 70, Truck 47, Battalion 27 and Ambulance 13 at Peterson and Ashland. It literally took 40 years to open it and to be honest I wasn’t even sure if they would every build it after having the city “looking into” it several times over the years and not building it.
In both the 1963/64 study and the 1968 study it was recommended to build a new fire station for Engine 83 and Truck 22. By the time the 1968 study was released Engine 83’s new station was under construction and it was recommended that Engine 128 be moved in with Engine 83 as the fire rate had gone up in Engine 83’s area. Engine 79 had been recommended to be taken out of service. The new fire station that was opened at Lehigh and Devon avenue in 1970 was recommended to have Engine 24 (from the West side) to be relocated there. A new station for Engine 26 and Truck 7 had been recommended to be opened only 2 blocks east of Engine 24’s old station so Engine 24’s district would still be well covered.
When Engine 83’s new station was opened in January of 1969 it was decided to move Engine 79 in with them while Engine 128 had remained in service at it’s quarters only a mile west of there on Eastwood avenue. Nine months later on September 16th Engine 128 was taken out of service and Battalion 20 was moved in with Engine 83 while in March of 1970 Engine 79 was relocated to it’s new station on the far northwest side. As it had been recommended for Engine 83 to be a “double Engine station” Engine 79 could have stayed at Engine 83 and Engine 128 could have been move to the station at Devon and Lehigh instead. In those days Truck 47 was still using a Tillered Aerial Ladder and it was busier in Engine 83 and Truck 22’s still district that was south of Foster avenue.Engine 83 had been one the busiest Engines on the northside since the mid 1960s and that was still the case was still the case 9 years later so it was decided to move Engine 59 in with Truck 47 about a mile and a half north so Engine 83″s still district would be shortened and the northern part of its still district would be then covered by Engine 59. Since then the fires have gone down but the Ambulance Assist (Ems) runs have gone up so Engine 59 eventually was made into an ALS (advanced life support) company like Engine 83 is. As both Edgewater (where Engine 59 is located) and Rogers Park are considered to be amongst the 5 most densely populated zip code areas in the city, Engine 59 has so far remained in service at Engine 70’s station.
in the mid 2000’s when many of Chicago’s newest fire stations where being built there had been a strong rumour that when Engine 70’s station would be opened that Engine 59 would be taken out of service and a new Truck company would be created in it’s place either to go in service at Engine 88’s new station or possibly at Engine 116’s station as Truck 51 had been relocate further east. Obviously it never happened. Considering that when Engines 100 and 61 were taken out of service Truck 6 and Truck 12 were put back in service to the idea of replacing Engine 59 with another Truck company did sound plausible.
As Engine 59 is always out going on alarms and Ems runs I would hope that it would remain where it is for the time being however I think that a better case could be made for it be replaced by a new Squad company on the far south side then to relocate it to O’Hare Field like you are speculating Tom. I do think that if they do create a new Engine company at O”Hare it will be numbered Engine 12 as they already have a new Spartan Crimson Engine that they have been using for Training purposes there that does have a number 12 on it side. I wouldn’t be surprised if they put in service over the next few years as they build some new Rescue Stations there.
#17 by NJ on December 18, 2013 - 3:14 PM
I should have been more clear. 5-2-2 is still in service. If the truck is ex-CFD, this is not it.
#18 by spoung45 on December 18, 2013 - 2:39 PM
I don’t think it was that one I do not recall seeing it marks as 5-2-2.
#19 by NJ on December 18, 2013 - 11:04 AM
Are you referring to 5-2-2 the Collapse Lumber truck which is a 95′ Seagrave ex Ladder truck?
#20 by spoung45 on December 18, 2013 - 10:50 AM
I have a question I saw a photo somewhere in the last few weeks on a former CFD Truck looks like it was a mid 90’s Seagrave with its ladder removed. I know there is/was on older truck that they removed the ladder from it and was using it as a spare squad(back in the 80’s/90’s). Has any one else seen this newer truck with the ladder removed from it?
#21 by chris on December 18, 2013 - 8:40 AM
its 70’s house it says so on the outside and they were moved in first
#22 by NJ on December 18, 2013 - 8:36 AM
As Battalion 9 has lots of area with relatively few resources, it is a good idea to have them there. All else, aside 59 is an ALS engine, while 70 is BLS. Given the lack of ambo’s in the area, keeping the ALS there is a necessity.
#23 by tom sullivan on December 18, 2013 - 8:16 AM
by tradition it is e-70’s house, it is built in their original still district. e-59 was moved from the south side back in the late 1970’s to t-47. that move was to correct the mistake of taking e-79 out of the area in the early 1970’s, just when the fire duty was at its peak.
new houses where engines have doubled up have always, so far, lead to one of the engines eventually moving elsewhere or being disbanded. this house may be the exception due to the population density and the high rises, which under current policy have a very large response on still (and extra) alarms.
my guess would be that e-59, if they were to move, would go to O’Hare field when the redevelopment is complete. that is only my speculation.
#24 by LFD435 on December 18, 2013 - 4:28 AM
I don’t know what topic I should post my questions on, so here they are.
1. Is Chicago going to build (or open, if already in progress) any new fire stations in the next year?
2. Will CFD Engine 70 (and any other co.’s with it) move out of 59’s quarters into their own house again?
I have a feeling that I remember that Eng. 70 was moved in with E59 for a “good” reason, so if anyone can refresh my memory if I am at least partly right, I would appreciate that.
#25 by David on November 29, 2013 - 2:24 AM
Love the fork lift in CFD colors, FDNY shops doesn’t bother with that.