CFD reserve squad at the body shop (more)

From the Fire Service, Inc. Facebook page:

Chicago FD reserve squad after body work at Fire Service, Inc.

Check the previous post HERE

Tags: CFD squad at the body shop, Chicago FD reserve squad, Fire Service Inc.

This entry was posted on June 16, 2015, 2:00 PM and is filed under Fire Department News. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

22 Comments

#1 by MABAS 21 on July 16, 2015 - 11:14 PM

Sorry Danny, unfortunately I didn’t because it was in the paint prep area which was tight quarters.
#2 by danny on July 16, 2015 - 10:56 PM

Get any pics mabas?
#3 by MABAS 21 on July 16, 2015 - 2:27 PM

Was at Fire Service Inc today and have a few updates. The 1996 HME/Salisbury reserve squad was completed and returned back to the CFD. The 2000 Pierce Lance, Squad 7, is completely repainted in the same color. The body was removed, new cabinet framing and flooring were installed and it was remounted to the chassis.
#4 by danny on June 24, 2015 - 3:37 AM

I meant in the 1990s lol
#5 by mike mc on June 23, 2015 - 7:14 PM

Squad 1 is currently using an old ALF engine, former Engine 23. Fleet converted it to use as a spare squad, althought they did not do anything with the open hose bed. They added a rack for pike poles.

Just guessing by observation, without using statistics, but I would say that Squad 1 uses old Engine 23 about 20% of the time in a given year and it uses G-482 as the snorkel about 20% of the time. So, roughly 40% of the time it is operating with a spare rig and occassionally with two spare rigs.

It is very rare to walk down Illinois and see Engine 42, Truck 3, Squad 1 and 1A , and 2-7-1 all using their assigned rigs. Engine 42 is currently also using a spare. As I am sure many of you have noticed, it is not unusual to go to a fire and see a quarter of the companies using spare rigs.

In view of the city’s fiscal crisis I do not see any improvement down the road. Fleet should consider what they did in the old days (pre 1980) and give the new rigs to the busy companies and hand me down rigs to the slower companies. No one will like it, but it might keep the department going for a few more years. Boston also did this in the old days.
#6 by danny on June 23, 2015 - 3:05 PM

didnt squad 1 use an old alf pumper as its main piece when G-510 was damaged in that accident?
#7 by David on June 23, 2015 - 8:51 AM

Phil, could I contact you somehow off this forum regarding some vintage CFD hardware – I’d like to ask a few questions on the old wreckers and some shop rigs I’m not able to find anywhere on the web. Thank you much in advance!
#8 by Phil Stenholm on June 23, 2015 - 1:29 AM

Altman was appointed Acting Fire Commissioner on 11-29-1996, and got the permanent gig on 9-10-1997.
#9 by mike mc on June 22, 2015 - 5:08 PM

The squads went back to being two piece companies prior to the delivery of the rigs still in use today. Early in the Commissioner Altman administration (1995?) a general order came out directing that the squads were to use a second rig. Inspections showed that the stress on the single axle snorkels was excessive. They ran with old engines and assorted other rigs until the new, two piece rigs were delivered. I know that Squads 2 and 5 operated this way. Squad 1 may have been exempt because they were not using the snorkel.

I also wonder what happened to Bill Post. I hope he is in good health and still with us.
#10 by mike d on June 22, 2015 - 9:43 AM

Thanks everyone for your knowledge of the squads and also the the CFD in general, always learn something new on this site.
#11 by Fred M on June 21, 2015 - 3:10 PM

SS-1 (during the Hendrickson years) had a Ford box truck as a chase vehicle. Pic’s can be seen at FiresScenes.net
The Flying Squads used Mack rigs but I am sure there were no chase rig’s with them
#12 by bill on June 21, 2015 - 1:31 PM

Prior to the 2000 purchase of the HME rigs. The squads did have a chase vehcle. They were old engines converted to be a chase rigs for the squads. These rigs were highlisthed in FAJ also.
#13 by Sebastian on June 21, 2015 - 12:54 PM

Anyone hear from bill post?? Haven’t seen a post from him in a while!!! He was very knowledgeable about the CFD!!
#14 by MABAS 21 on June 21, 2015 - 7:33 AM

Thanks Phil for sharing that history of the current squad companies.
#15 by Phil Stenholm on June 21, 2015 - 5:16 AM

I should have mentioned that Squad 6 did not become Squad 5 until December 1987, when the company was relocated from E122 (in District 6) to E116 (in District 5). So Squad 5 was known as “Squad 6” from September 1983 (when the squads were reorganized) until December 1987,
#16 by Phil Stenholm on June 21, 2015 - 5:10 AM

The two-piece squads were in service 1983-87 after the number of squads was cut-back from seven (pre-1983) to four (1983-present).

During this period of time (1983-87) Squad 1 operated with a 1979 Ford 3-D ex-FMS and the 1982 Seagrave/Pierce 85′ 1500/300 snorkel-quint, Squad 2 and Squad 5 each operated with a 1979 Ford 3-D ex-FMS and one of the 1974 Oshkosh/Pierce 75-ft 1250/500 snorkel-quints (of which there were actually three), and Squad 7 (at O’Hare Field) operated with a 1975 Oshkosh/FMC/Bean snorkel-quint (ex-E12) & a Chevrolet/E-One mini-pumper.

Three Spartan/E-One 55′ snorkel squads were placed into service in 1987-88 with Squads 1, 2, and 5, replacing the two-piece squads, and Squad 7 was assigned a Spartan Super-Vac heavy-rescue (replacing the Oshkosh/FMC/Bean snorkel-quint). Beginning in 1994, a Hummer mini-pumper (replaced in 2003 by a Ford/Pierce mini-pumper) was assigned as Squad 7-A.

1987-89:
G-482 (SQUAD 1)
G-483 (SQUAD 2)
G-491 (SQUAD 5)

G-491 was demolished in a crash in 1989, and so once again Squad 5 operated as a two-piece squad 1989-96, using the old ex-SS1 1975 Pierce/Hendrickson 55′ snorkel (G-387) and one of the 1979 Ford/3-D ex-FMS rigs.

Squad 1 was assigned the new HME/Saulsbury heavy-rescue (G- 510 pictured above) in 1996, and Squad 1’s 1987 Spartan snorkel-squad (G-482) was reassigned to Squad 5 at this time (replacing both the 1975 Pierce/Hendfrickson snorkel and the 1979 Ford 3-D ex-FMS), as Squad 5 was once again a one-piece squad.

The two-piece squads were put back into service in 2000 when the three HME/Central States box squads and the three HME/Central States 55′ snorkels were placed into service with Squad 1, 2, and 5. Also, a new Pierce heavy-rescue was assigned to Squad 7 at this time.
#17 by Chuck on June 20, 2015 - 7:38 PM

Danny, where did you get your info that the Squads were one piece from 1988 to 2000? They were two pieces from when they were recreated in 1983 and have never been single pieces since then.
#18 by danny on June 20, 2015 - 6:25 PM

mike from 88 to 2000 squads 1, 2, & 5 were all one-piece and from 1994 on squad 7 was a 2-piece with the hummer
#19 by mike d on June 20, 2015 - 2:32 PM

During the time squad one was only running one piece, did squads 2 and 5 only run the snorkels or were they still two piece units?
#20 by danny on June 17, 2015 - 10:03 PM

in that 4 years they wrecked it and it was rebuilt too i believe
#21 by Marty Coyne on June 16, 2015 - 9:50 PM

The original idea was to have squad one operate like the old flying squads without the snorkel. Since one’s snorkel got very little use downtown and squad five was running an ancient Hendrickson they gave it to five. This concept only lasted about 4 Years
#22 by mike mc on June 16, 2015 - 4:13 PM

Does anyone know why Chicago bought this rig in the first place? It ran as Squad 1 for a few years and if I am not mistaken, as a one piece squad. I believe Squad 1’s snorkel was used by Squad 5 at the time. Did they seriously consider dropping the snorkel from the squads or was it that they prefered to have Squads 2 and 5 operate with snorkels?

They ordered the current squad rigs not too long after this rig went in service so I always wondered why they wanted this rig.

Thanks in advance for any info.