Dear Chicago Area Fire Departments Webmaster,
I’m hoping you can point me in the right direction.I’m trying to research a house fire the consumed my mother’s home some time during a winter between 1949 and 1952. She lived in the vicinity of 103rd and Vincennes at the time. I know of no one alive today in her family that remembers anything of significance other than these facts.The 1940 Census shows my mother and her family living at (I believe) 1256 W 103rd, which is right in that vicinity. I cannot say for sure if that was the same address they were living at during the time of the fire. One of my cousins claims that her mother (my mother’s older sister) maintained that no other structure was ever rebuilt on the site of where their home once stood, but today there IS a building at that address – so either the address was wrong, the addresses have changed, or my aunt was mistaken.I’m hoping you may be able to tell me if you have any records that could indicate any emergency responses to house fires in that vicinity during that time frame. If so, to know the date and actual address would be a wonderful help. If such records are not available, then any advice you could give as to how i could investigate further would be very much welcome as well.I’ve tried researching this on-line myself, but, as I’m sure you can imagine, most of my searches are complicated by the countless links to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871!Thank you for all you do and all your hard work.And thank you in advance for your time.Sincerely,
David Johns
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#1 by Bill Post on September 4, 2016 - 1:24 AM
David, DH gave you good information as Truck 24’s station was and still is only a couple of blocks southwest of the address on 103rd street that you gave us. They most definitely would have been the still (first due truck) assuming that they were in quarters at the time of the fire. As far as the first due engine, it most likely would have been Engine 93 at 330 W 104th Street, however it could have also been Engine 121 which was located at 1700 W 95th Street and now is located at a new station about half a block west of the old house which still might be standing.
DH it turns out that at the time of the fire (between 1949 and 1952) all of the nearby engines and trucks were still at or near their current locations, in fact only Engine 121 and Truck 40 were in a different building then today. It is a different story however with the battalion chiefs. At the time of the fire that location was in the 17th Battalion who was at 30 E 114th Street where the current 22nd Battalion is. The 29th Battalion was at Engine 121 and Truck 40’s quarters. They didn’t go in service until January 16, 1953 which was the same day that the 7th Division was put in service. At the time of the fire, that incident was in the 5th Division which was at Engine 63’s old house at 6330 S Maryland. The one fire company that probably took in the fire that is no longer in service was Squad 13, which was a new company at the time who went in service on April 1, 1949 with Engine 93 about a mile east of the fire.
There is a possibility that there are old company journals at Engine 93’s house at 330 w 104th Street.
Another good bet would be to go to the Greater Chicagoland Fire Museum, at 5218 S Western Ave. It is open on the 4th Saturday of each month from 10 am to 2 pm. They are currently working on a resource library on the second floor. When it’s complete there will be some archived journals.
If you make it to the museum, Ken Little, the CFD’s official historian might be able to help you. He worked in the Fire Alarm Office for many years. The Museum will next be open on Saturday, September 24.
#2 by The DH on September 2, 2016 - 12:45 PM
If you are local, you could stop by Truck 24’s quarters which is at 104th and Vinncennes and see if they have any old company journals laying around from that timeframe. I knew a guy at a house where my great grandfather was a firefighter and we were able to locate an old journal from the time when he was in that house back in the 30s! Our resident Bill Post might have some info about the companies that were in that area at the time that might no longer be in service as well. Good luck!