Chicago FD Squad 1 « chicagoareafire.com

Chicago FD Squad 1

From Josh Boyajian

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Josh Boyajian photo

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This entry was posted on May 14, 2017, 11:00 AM and is filed under Fire Truck photos. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

18 Comments

#1 by Bill Post on May 17, 2017 - 10:27 PM

Fred M I haven’t heard any feedback on the new squads as of yet but there may be some people on this website that have. I do know that shortly before they went in service some modifications had to be made to the cabinets on the top of the Snorkel rigs because of difficulty in operating the boom however that was solved a few months ago. About a week ago I happened to go past the lot where Fleet Management keeps the spare squads and aerials just east of Engine 20’s old house at 1320 W Concord Place. I noticed that the HME/Central States squads were parked there along with a few command vans including the one that was recently assigned to 272. There were at least three spare tower ladders parked there but apparently they are not keeping engines in that lot anymore. This was about 6 in the evening last Thursday.
#2 by Fred M on May 17, 2017 - 7:57 PM

Thanks for the info Bill. I wasn’t sure if the Des Plaines house was still in operation. On a different note, have you heard of any feedback from members assigned to the new Squads pro or con re: Rosenbauer equip??
#3 by Bill Post on May 17, 2017 - 5:58 PM

Fred M you must be talking about the old Salvage Patrol 1 (which was also the Salvage Patrol’s headquarters) at 100 S Des Plaines which was closed in 1959. The building is there but I really don’t see it happening. The most realistic scenario to me would be to temporarily move Squad 1 to Engine 4’s house. They were only three blocks away from the old SS1 or Special Services Station.
#4 by Bill Post on May 17, 2017 - 5:49 PM

Fred M, the fire station on south Des Plaines is Engine 5 and Truck 2 at 324 S Desplaines. Ambulance 28 and the Collapse Rescue Unit is also there as is the Special Operations Battalion Chief. There isn’t any more room at Engine 5’s house. It is ironic that Engine 5 is where the current Squad 1 was put on in service on September 19 1983. When they were put in service Truck 2 had been relocated at Engine 18’s old house at the time. Perhaps if they were to relocate either Truck 2 or Squad 1 to Engine 18’s current house it might work out.
I don’t know if it is still possible to use SS1’s old house at 1044 N Orleans or not. I personally think that if they had to temporarily relocate Squad 1 it would make sense to move them into Engine 4’s and Tower Ladder 10’s house. Engine 22’s house also has room however Engine 22 is a little too far north.4
#5 by Fred M on May 17, 2017 - 5:13 PM

Bill, wasn’t there a station on South Des Plaines years ago? If still available, could that handle the relocation of Engine 42 etc? Maybe the squad could relo over to Orleans St again on a temp basis?
#6 by Bill Post on May 17, 2017 - 4:41 PM

Mike Mc you had mentioned in your reply about seeing them build a new house for possibly Engine 81 and turning Engine 74 into a truck company. That will never happen. Engine 74 is in too strategic a location and is in a population center. That is one of the reasons why Engine Company 74 was never moved into Truck 61’s house. Incidentally, none of the three Maatman reports from the 1960’s and early 70’s recommended the Truck 61 station be built where they currently are at. The 1968 report recommended building a station for Engine 74 at or near their current location and then moving Truck 61 into a new house with them at 106th and Ewing Avenue. The 1968 Maatman Report also recommended building a station for Engine 97 at 130th Street and Brandon with moving Truck 2 in there. That report was done before Truck 39 was taken out of service from their station at 25 S Laflin so the 1968 report recommended moving Truck 39 into Engine 5’s house instead of Truck 2. That report also recommended Truck 41 be moved into Engine 123’s proposed new quarters.

So now you are probably asking who was recommended to be moved into Engine 101’s new house if Truck 41 was to be at Engine 123. The report recommended that Truck 9 be put back in service at Engine 101’s new house instead. Believe it or not Engine 75 and Truck 43 (of all things) were recommended to be put into the new station that became Engine 11 and Truck 9’s new quarters. So several of those new stations were opened however some had different fire companies. Engine 97 never was given a new station and neither was Engine 74.

The 1968 Maatman Report did recommend building a station at 116th and Oglesby which was a few blocks west of Torrence Avenue. That area was never developed so the station was not built. Another station which was never built was recommended to be at 10300 S Doty Avenue for Engine 100 and Truck 46.

Since Engine 18’s old house was closed in 2008, currently the oldest active station in the city is Engine Company 30’s house at 1125 N Ashland. It was built in 1880. Here’s the catch to that. They were to go out of service and their house was to be closed. From what I had heard the local chamber of commerce didn’t want to see Engine 30 close down so eventually Engine 20 was taken out of service instead (about 24 years later). Engine 20 was located in a house built in 1936 that was larger than Engine 30’s however Engine 20 didn’t have the clout that Engine 30 did.

The next oldest active station is Engine 39’s house which was built in 1886. That station had been recommended to be replaced by a new station at 3400 S Damen that was never built.

The last active station that was built in the 1800’s is Engine 96 and Truck 29, built in 1898. That station had been recommended to be replaced by a new station in the vicinity of Lake and Central that was never built either. There are several other fire stations that were recommended for replacement in the Maatman reports from the 1960’s and the CFD’s own study in 1986 that were never built.

All of those older and smaller stations need to be replaced more then a new fire station for Engine 42. However if by getting the builder to put 10 million dollars in a Neighborhood Opportunity bonus fund which could go to building fire stations that really are needed, then it may be worth it to give Engine 42 a newer (but not really needed) station.
#7 by Bill Post on May 16, 2017 - 9:22 PM

John you were correct that Engine 77 going out of service was replaced by Haz Mat 2 (512). It was Engine 100 going out of service that allowed the fire department to resurrect Truck 6 and Engine Company 61 went out of service to reinstate Truck 12 at Engine 110’s quarters.

Actually Engine 20 and old Truck 12 were taken out of service on January 1st 1992. The CFD didn’t get any new companies in exchange for them at the time. Truck 12 was located at Engine 13’s current quarters. When Truck 12 went out of service Squad 1 was relocated from Engine 5’s house to Engine 13’s. Truck 2 was at Engine 18’s house at 1123 W Roosevelt so they were moved in with Engine 5 when Squad 1 left.

The in-house study that I’ve mentioned previously wanted both Engines 20 and 63 to be taken out of service in order to create two new truck companies for the far south side. Engine 100 was to remain in service instead of Engine 63. You probably remember that Engine 100’s old quarters was located just a few blocks south of Engine 63’s new quarters. Truck 16 was recommended to be relocated to Engine 81′ quarters .

Another recommendation was to move Truck 12 from Engine 13’s station to a new one at Midway Airport near 6100 S Cicero. Engine 127 would have also been moved from 6411 S Central. At the time, Bedford Park had a station just about 2 blocks south of Engine 127 at 6535 S Central. This was just across the border with Chicago.

The study also recommended an automatic-aid agreement with Bedford Park to cover parts of Chicago just south and west of Midway Airport which is currently covered by Engines 127, 32, and Truck 60. There is another Bedford Park station located at 6820 S Archer. This was also suggested to be included in an automatic-aid agreement to help back up the west and south end of Engine 32’s district. There are several other suburban fire departments with stations near Chicago’s boundaries that were suggested to be part of automatic-aid agreements. The study that was done under the auspices of the Chicago Fire Deparment’s research and planning division recommended looking into automatic-aid agreements with Bedford Park, Bensenville, Cicero, Dolton, Elk Grove Village, Park Ridge, Riverdale, Rosemont, and Schiller Park. Each of those suburbs have stations along the edges of Chicago. Some of those departments are near the Chicago/OHare Field corridor.

This study, which was done in 1986, was quite progressive. The automatic-aid agreements that were suggested mirror a similar arrangement in place around Phoenix, Arizona where most area departments have automatic-aid agreements. They train together and are dispatched together. Even though each department is separate, they don’t recognize municipal borders and the nearest companies will be dispatched automatically to an incident even if it’s in another town. For example if a station is close to a town’s border, they will be sent to an emergency in the next town if they are closer than the nearest station of the other town.
#8 by Bill Post on May 16, 2017 - 1:36 PM

Harry Engine 42’s house as of now only has one ambulance. When the former BLS ambulance 93 was converted into ALS ambulance 74 they were relocated to Engine 13’s house.

Here’s some information about a double engine station on the far south side. When Engine 80’s station was opened on July 9th 1964 it was a double engine house. Engine 80 was relocated from Engine 81’s house where they had been temporarily located. Engine 53 was relocated from their station (which the last I had heard was still standing) in the middle of the old Chicago Union Stockyards at 4005 S Packers. Truck 62 was also put in service as a new company however to do that they took Squad 12 out of service from Engines 129’s quarters for the manpower. Fog Pressure 6 was relocated from Engine 103’s old quarters at Harrison and Loomis on opening day. They also had at least one or two Civil Defense rigs in service there and to my understanding there was also a one-man Salvage Wagon. The Salvage Wagon was a special call when needed and was using a 1956 International Harvester ex high pressure wagon. Engine 53 wasn’t taken out of service until late July/early August of 1967, so they were there for about 3 years.
#9 by John Antkowski on May 16, 2017 - 1:04 PM

Mike Mc I never thought about a triple company down in the far south. There are quite a few houses in the district that are showing their age. For instance Engine 115 has seen better days same with 97 74 and Engine 75. Most of the new houses are on the north side. A couple of triple company houses would make sense and be very cost effective. John
#10 by harry on May 16, 2017 - 12:11 PM

well considering e42 house ha an engine command 2 ambos and a 2 piece squad set a station the size of rescue 3 at ohare would be perfect think about it rescue 3 at ohare has sqd set command fan truck engine and ambo
#11 by Mike Mc on May 16, 2017 - 9:18 AM

I meant Engine 62 with Truck 27 of course. Typo.
#12 by Mike Mc on May 16, 2017 - 9:09 AM

Well said Bill, but if they do in fact build the new house before closing 42 (I have serious doubts about that, no matter what they say) I doubt if the new house will have more than three bays. I don’t think the lot west of the current firehouse could accommodate anything more than that unless they close the alley and tear up 42’s parking lot. Maybe that’s the plan. It would be just a little inconvenient to continue operating 42’s house, with it’s current occupants, with no parking lot and no alley. My guess is the squad is moved even before construction begins.

Times change. Engine 103’s neighborhood is now so gentrified with valuable real estate that I do not see them moving. They probably wish they left Engine 104 at 14th and Michigan for the same reason.

With regard to the south side, I do not see new truck companies going into service. I think they will build two or three double engine and one truck houses such as they did with Engine 59. 120, 115 and truck 24 in one house for example. 75, 93, and truck 27. 82, 93, and Truck 42. Various combinations like that. Maybe engine 74 converted to a truck and moved to a new house with Engine 81. They won’t care much about the distance from the nearest truck company, or even about bridges and railroad tracks for that matter. They’ll just do it. Somebody will get the contracts.
#13 by John Antkowski on May 16, 2017 - 8:47 AM

Bill plus the debate about another squad company in the far south side. From previous posts Squad 5 has been taking in a lot of fires down in the far south side their current location is good but the far south end is quite a haul. A fourth squad company is needed down there.
#14 by John Antkowski on May 16, 2017 - 8:22 AM

Bill thanks for your thoughts. From what I remember engine 100 became truck 12 engine 77 became a second hazmat rig. I don’t know what became of engine 20 though. Yes engine 103 would be a good choice for relocation. They are surrounded with fire houses plus they are in an old wpa act firehouse. Engine 29 also is in an old house the cpd vacated the aging police station. Hopefully the cfd can use some of the money for new firehouses. Now that I am thinking about it 20’s might be truck 6 with engine 110. Thanks John.
#15 by Bill Post on May 15, 2017 - 9:35 PM

John here is a link with a more thorough drawing of the proposed fire station for Engine 42. This was printed in Crain’s Chicago Business and shows 5 and possibly 6 bays. The current station has 6 bays.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20170428/CRED03/170429841?X-IgnoreUserAgent=1

The City of Chicago shouldn’t settle for anything less than the current floor space in Engine 42’s house. It would be a waste of precious time and money to replace Engine 42’s house with a smaller station that couldn’t support what they currently have.

Let’s face it Chicago really doesn’t need a new station there. The only reason for building a new one is the fact that the developer would pay for it as well as agreeing to pay an additional 10 million dollars into Chicago’s Neighborhood Opportunity Bonus Program. The city gets something in return for allowing the developer to get a zoning change and for inconveniencing the CFD and the city by tearing down a perfectly good fire station that has been serving the city and the downtown area quite well.

It’s hard to believe that Engine 42’s house is almost 49 years old however by Chicago standards it really isn’t that old if you consider that there are still three stations built in the 1800’s.

Perhaps that extra 10 million dollars the city expects to get from the developer can be used to build a few more new fire stations where Chicago really needs them. Most of the stations that the city opened since the mid and late 1960’s were recommended in the Maatman Reports including Engine 42’s current house. The Chicago Fire Department did an in-house study which was released around 1986 that recommended four new fire stations be built south of 95th Street. They found that is where the most significant gaps in fire protection coverage were in Chicago.

The four new houses included a new station for Engine 75 at 200 E 130th Street along with a new truck company. The second station (in order of priority) was for Engine 97 and a new truck company near 3100 E 130th Street. The next was to built at 103rd and State Street for Engine 93 and another new truck company with the final new house to be built at approximately 732 W 115th Street. That last new station was recommended for Truck 24 and an engine company that would be relocated from the central city such as Engine 103. Engine 115 would have stayed where they presently are at. The reason for having another engine relocated to the new station at 115th street was to have a change of quarters company available on the far south side. There weren’t that many change companies south of 95th Street at the time. It was determined that Engine 103’s present location had several engines that were within an acceptable distance. At the time of the study, Engine 104 was doubled up with Engine 1. Their old house at 1401 S Michigan recently had been closed. The original recommendation was for Engine 103 to be relocated to Truck 61 and Engine 104 to Truck 24’s new house that was never built. The in-house study also recommended that Truck 16 be relocated to Engine 81’s present station.

Several of the new truck companies that were recommended for the far south side would have really been created by using the manpower from engine companies that were proposed to be taken out of service such as Engine 20 and Engine 100. The reason for the relocations and the new trucks on the far south side was because there were several “demand zones” which were beyond an acceptable distance from the nearest fire companies which in most cases included trucks as well as engines.

Even though the far south side doesn’t have the population it once had, as recently as a few weeks ago an article appeared on DNAinfo.com (was linked to this site) stating there were at least five neighborhoods in Chicago with a significantly higher risk of having a house fire and consequently fire related injuries or death. Those areas included Roseland which is near where three of those four new stations were recommend to be built. The other four high risk areas were Englewood, Back of the Yards, Austin, and Humboldt Park. None of that really comes as a surprise to just about anyone that reads this website. The point is that there are some areas in the city that can use newer fire stations more then Engine 42 in the Loop.

Personally I have nothing against Engine 42 getting a newer station providing that a portion of the developer’s money goes to building some of the stations that the fire department’s own studies found were needed.
#16 by John Antkowski on May 15, 2017 - 2:08 PM

If Engine 42 gets that new firehouse will there be enough room for the 2 piece rig. I’m guessing not sure that there’s like 6 or 7 bay doors in the current house. And the composite picture shows 3 doors. I guess that they will address that when they get there. John
#17 by CrabbyMilton on May 15, 2017 - 6:02 AM

Those look sharp. Picked a great background for those pictures.
#18 by Michael M on May 14, 2017 - 5:10 PM

Nice shots of the new Squad 1! Love it in front of the fountain!