This from Steve Redick:
I was working in the FAO this day. It was a big deal at the time. Engine 20 was removed from their house at 1318 Concord Place. Truck 12 which was moved from 107’s house to 13’s new house was removed. Squad 1 was shuffled from Engine 5 if I remember right to 13’s house to make up for taking the truck oos. Truck 2 went from 18’s house to Engine 5 to replace the squad.
The maps are kinda interesting. No hash marks on the squad borders as they “took” all their boundary streets.. These were contoversial moves at the time, supposedly the first of many companies to be taken oos.
all three are downloadable files
#1 by LT501 on January 20, 2018 - 5:26 AM
Matt…I don’t believe Oak Lawn ever annexed any land protected by the Burbank Manor FPD. When Oak Lawn expanded to the West in the 1960’s, they first absorbed the unincorporated area protected by the Grandview Park FPD, and a few years later, that of the Columbus Manor FPD. Both of these districts were South of 87th Street, while the Burbank Manor FPD covered the unincorporated area North of 87th. While Oak Lawn did have a desire to annex it as well, voters in that area rejected the proposal and chose to incorporate as the City of Burbank, instead, soon after transitioning their fire district into a municipal fire dept.
#2 by Bill Post on January 19, 2018 - 1:34 PM
Here is an interesting connection to both the fate of Engine 20 and Engine 118’s original location which was in the vicinity of 134th st and Indiana avenue.
As was previously mention the Chicago Fire Department had taken Engine company out of service on January 1st 1992, which came as a surprise to many.
The bigger surprise is that only about 6 years before Engine 20 was taken out of service when the CFD released it’s own “in house” study in 1986 the Chicago Fire Department had recommended that 4 new fire stations be built on the far south side and they were all south of 95th street. Whats more is that 3 or the 4 proposed new stations would be built in the current 22nd Battalion while one would be built in the current 24th Battalion.
The background of the study is that CFD research and planning department had found that there were some significant gaps in both Engine and Truck coverage on the far south side which was based on “demand zones” .
The 1986 study had recommended that these 4 locations be used as sites for new fire stations and these locations are listed in priority or the order in which they were recommended to be built.
The first station was recommended for 13000 South and 200 East which would be at 13000 S Indiana or 4 blocks from Engine 118’s original location.
Engine 75 was recommended to be relocated there and a new Truck company was to be created. The new Truck company was to be created by taking Engine company 63 out of service and taking the manpower from Engine 63 to create the new Truck company. Remember Engine 63 and Truck 16 were at their previous old house on the 1400 block of east 62nd place. At the same time Truck 16 was recommended to be relocated to Engine 81’s current location and the old house on 62nd place would be closed.
Engine company 100 would have remained in service however as Engine 100 was located only about a block and half south of Engine 63’s current location at 1440 E 67th street.
The second new station was recommended to be built at 13000 south and 3100 east which would have been built at and 130th street and Houston ave and that station would have been a new and much larger station for Engine 97. Engine 97’s new station would have also had a new Truck company put in service and that new Truck company was recommended to be created by taking Engine 20 out of service and the manpower would have been used to create the new Truck company.
The third new station was recommended to be built at 10300 south and 0 west ,in other words at 103rd and State street. Engine 93 would have been relocated there and a 3rd new Truck company was to be created. The new Truck at 103rd and State street would have been a totally new company as no companies were recommended to be taken out of service to create that new Truck company.
The fourth new station was recommended to built at approximately 732 w 115th street and Truck 24 was recommended to be relocated there. A Engine company would have also been relocated there from the center of the city.
At the time of the 1986 study Engine 104 had been relocated to Engine company 1 so Engine 104 was initially recommended to be relocated to the new house at 732 W 115th street with Truck 24 and Engine 103 at 25 s Laflin would have been relocated to Truck 61’s or what is now Engine 104 current house. As you know Engine 104 was relocated to Truck 61’s house and Engine 103 is still at 25 S Laflin.
Engine 115 would have stayed where they currently are at which is at 11940 south Peoria. The CFD research and planning department felt that more Engine companies were needed on the far south side so that is why they had recommended that Engines 104 and 103 both be relocated to the far south side.
The 1986 study which was done by the CFD management and not by an outside consultant when even further and it even showed that the companies that were to be recommended to be relocated further south were within adequate response distance from other nearby companies. For example there happen to 5 Engines about a mile and half or less from Engine 103s current quarters. They are Engine 26,5,14,30 and 18.
Some of you probably already know that the current ISO (Insurance Service Organization requirements for rating adequate fire protection is that an Engine company should be no more then 1.5 miles from a “built upon” area and a Ladder or Truck company should be no more than 2.5 miles from “built upon” area in it’s district. This in house study was the same study that had recommended moving Truck 12 in with Engine 127.
Since this study was done Engine 88 has moved into a new and larger station and they have been talking about putting a new Truck company there for years but so far it hasn’t happened and they can easily move ambulance 75 in with Engine 88 instead of keeping it doubled up with Ambulance 58 at Engine 101’s quarters.
One of the great thing about this in house study that was done is that even though they had recommended creating 3 new Truck companies two of the three would have been created from Engine companies taken out of service and only one the Trucks would have been created by actually hiring more people or enlarging the payroll.
It is ironic that not one of the new fire stations that were recommended in the study quoted were ever built yet in recent years the 22nd Battalion has gotten busier and working fires seem to be pretty common these days in 22nd Battalion.
#3 by Bill Post on January 18, 2018 - 1:25 PM
Phil by the way the disaster that occurred on May 20 1943 was at 73rd and Central Park, just a few miles southeast of Midway Airport where the military plane was heading and crashed into the gas holding tank.
#4 by Matt on January 18, 2018 - 1:21 PM
Burbank Manor had its own Volunteer Fire Department that dates back to 1942 when it was unincorporated Stickney Township. The Burbank Manor VFD became the Burbank FD when the area protected by Burbank Manor was annexed by the Village of Oak Lawn and the remainder became Burbank when Burbank incorporated in 1970.
As an aside, I know that CFD companies would also respond into Evergreen Park prior to the formal fire department being formed in 1927,
#5 by Bill Post on January 18, 2018 - 1:20 PM
Phil thanks once again for that truly amazing history of Engine 127, Engine 118, and the Midway Airport companies. As you well know Engine 118 eventually became a dedicated company at the airport just like Ambulance 12 was during the 1950’s. After that only Truck 54 would respond off of the field unless it was an aircraft related incident which unfortunately there were many.
There were many significant plane crashes in the surrounding neighborhoods over the years, however I will mention one of the scariest ones that occured on May 20th 1943. A military plane on a training mission from Fort Worth Texas with 12 people aboard crashed into one of the People’s Gas Company holding tanks. There were several of these huge tanks in Chicago until sometime in the 1970s when they were dismantled. I am sure many people on this site who were born in the early 60’s and before remember them. There was one at Kedzie and Pratt on the far north side that could be seen for miles. There was one on the far southeast side and another near Fullerton and the Chicago River. Those are just the ones that I know of. I think there might have also been one on the west side off Chicago Avenue. They were a block or two long, about 20 stories tall, and painted green with a white upper section that had a green and red pattern near the top. I’m sure that anyone who was in Chicago back then remembers them.
The 1943 crash had similarities to the World Trade Center attack as the loaded airplane crashed into a high-rise type of structure.
I wasn’t around at the time, however I am sure that will go down as one of Chicago’s worst disasters.
#6 by MABAS 21 on January 17, 2018 - 7:58 PM
Thanks Phil for that very detailed history. I found a pic of 6-2-2 online and that is what I remember seeing at Midway in the 70’s along with 6-5-2, 6-5-8, 6-5-9 and Battalion 31.
#7 by Phil Stenholm on January 17, 2018 - 3:47 PM
MABAS21: CFD Morgan Park Hose Co. was organized in October 1911 at the former Morgan Park Village Hall at 1979 W. 111th Street (replacing the Village of Morgan Park Vol. F. D. after the Village of Morgan Park was annexed by the City of Chicago. Morgan Park Hose Co. was reorganized as Engine Co. 118 in January 1912, but Chicago’s annexation of Morgan Park was declared invalid by a judge and an injunction reversing the annexation was issued in the Summer of 1912. The Morgan Park Vol. F. D. was reorganized (eventually to be replaced by Engine Co. 120 in April 1914 after the annexation was approved).
Meanwhile, Engine Co. 118 was relocated to a leased commercial building at 13401 S. Indiana Ave. The Riverdale Vol. Fire Company was also existent (and had been for 25 years) at this time, located about two blocks south of Engine 118 at 13567 S. Indiana.
Although distinct from Engine Co. 118, the Riverdale Vol. Fire Company responded to alarms with Engine Co. 118 in the City of Chicago (following Engine 118 with additional manpower and equipment), as well as responding into both Riverdale and Dolton.
The Riverdale Vol. Fire Company was disbanded in August 1924, and Engine Co. 118 moved into the Riverdale Vol. Fire Company’s former firehouse at 13567 S. Indiana. Engine Co. 118 also began to respond to alarm s in Riverdale and Dolton at this time, with the Riverdale and Dolton fire departments responding into Chicago (following Engine 118).
Again, Engine Co. 118 was located in a firehouse on the east side of the Indians Avenue in the City of Chicago, but they could see the Village of Riverdale just by looking out their front door.
At the time that Engine 118, Truck 54, and Battalion 31 were located at the Midway Airport firehouse in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the only ARFF rig there was Cardox Crash Truck 6-5-1. (Cardox Crash Truck 6-5-1 was replaced by Cardox Crash Truck 6-5-3 in April 1971, as 6-5-3 was transferred to Midway Airport from O’Hare). So there was no problem with over-crowding. Then Truck Co. 54 was relocated from Midway Airport to the new Engine 34 firehouse at 4034 W. 47th Street in November 1967, and was replaced at the Midway firehouse six months later by Dry Chemical 2 (6-2-2).
DC2 was a 100/175/20F mini-pumper that responded to most routine incidents at Midway, and with Engine 127 just a half-mile away and Engine 32, Engine 34, and Engine 88 located within a couple of miles of the airport, it became apparent over a period of time that an engine company was no longer needed at the Midway firehouse.
The first ARFF crash trucks assigned to Midway Airport were Crash Truck 6-5-8 ( ex-USAF 1953 ALF/Marmon-Herrington O-10 1000/1000) and Crash Truck 6-5-9 (ex-Cincinnati F. D. 1963 Yankee Walter 1000/500). They were placed into service over a nine-month period in 1972-73. At this point (Spring 1973), Battalion 31, Engine 118, Dry Chemical 2, Cardox Crash Truck 6-5-3, and ARFF Crash Trucks 6-5-8 and 6-5-9 were located at the Midway firehouse. Battalion 31 was parked in front of 6-5-3, DC2 was parked in front of 6-5-8 in the old truck bay, and Engine 118 and 6-5-9 each had their own bay.
Crash Truck 6-5-2 (a brand-new Oshkosh M-1000 crash truck 1000/1500/130F with 1,000 lbs Purple “K” dry powder) replaced both Engine 118 and Cardox Crash Truck 6-5-3 at Midway in January 1974, and Engine 118’s rig (1967 Ford/WLF 1000/750 with a ladder rack) was transferred to Engine 32.
Engine 32 (The ex-E118 rig) was later was re-designated 6-3-8 (Chemical 8) and was moved to Engine 127 in 1980 (relocated to the Lake Calumet Harbor Engine 80/Truck 62 firehouse in 1983), and Crash Truck 6-5-8 was taken out of service in 1980 at Midway and was sent to the Shops.
Chemical 6-3-7 (1981 GMC/E-One 250/500/15F/300#) was placed into service at Midway (replacing ARFF Crash Truck 6-5-9) and Mobile Stairway-Chemical 6-3-1 was moved from O’Hare Field to Midway in 1981, and ARFF Crash Truck 6-5-9 was stored at Engine 127 for a period of time (it was parked behind Chemical 6-3-8 1981-83). Ambulance 54 was placed into service at Engine 127 in 1988.
The new ARFF Crash Truck 6-5-9 (1985 Oshkosh T-6 1250/1585/205F) was placed into service at Midway in January 1985, replacing DC2 (which was moved to Engine 34), and Ambulance 54 was placed into service at Engine 127 in 1988.
DC2, ARFF Crash Truck 6-5-2, and ARFF Crash Truck 6-5-9 had their own bays, and 6-5-8 was parked behind Battalion 31 in the truck bay in the 1970’s, and DC2 (later replaced by ARFF Crash Truck 6-5-9), ARFF Crash Truck 6-5-2, and Chemical 6-3-7 had their own bays, and Mobile Stairway–Chemical 6-3-1 (replaced by former O”Hare Mobile Stairway-Chemical 6-3-4 in 1987) was parked behind Battalion 16 (formerly known as Battalion 31) in the 1980’s.
So the firehouse at Midway Airport was never really over-crowded, especially with Engine 127’s house available with space for a rig or two located just a half-mile away.
As for Engine Co. 127, when it was placed in service in Clearing in 1925 it responded to alarms in the Clearing Industrial District, which was located in (and overlapped) Chicago and what is now Bedford Park (which was unincorporated Stickney Township at that time). Engine Co. 127 did not respond to alarms in any part of Stickney Township that was not in the Clearing Industrial District. If Burbank Manor was in the Clearing Industrial District, Engine 127 would have responded to alarms there as well. Otherwise, no.
Also, Engine Co. 127 was a so-called “dedicated” company, meaning it did not normally respond to alarms outside of its own still district (the Clearing Industrial District) and did not have a change of quarters on box cards. Truck Co. 40 was not a dedicated company (when it was at Engine 127), but Combination Co. 127 (1932-50) was a dedicated company after Engine Co. 127 and Truck Co. 40 were merged in 1932.
I don’t know what (if any) formal relationship existed between the CFD and the Bedford Park Vol. F. D. as far as responses to Clearing Industrial District areas that were under the control of the Chicago Transfer & Clearing Co. is concerned (after the BPVFD was established), but I would imagine the BFVFD probably responded at least to working fires in the Clearing Industrial District both inside and outside Bedford Park and assisted CFD companies (similar to the relationship between the CFD and the Riverdale and Dolton Vol. fire departments in the 1920’s), since Engine Co. 127 (and later Combination Co. 127) was fairly isolated from the rest of the CFD prior to 1950.
#8 by MABAS 21 on January 17, 2018 - 1:18 PM
Bill and Phil, as always, thanks for the interesting history on Engines 118 and 127. Driving past 127’s former house many times, I had no idea that Truck 40 used to run out of there nor that it was built in 1925. Last I knew, the Chicago Bureau of Electricity occupied the building. Also I wasn’t aware that at one time Engine 118, Truck 54, Ambulance 12 and Battalion 31 ran out of the former house on 59th and Central. As a kid, I remember a few ARFF rigs and what looked like an International fog pressure out of the former Midway house.
A few questions. Phil, when 118 was at 136th and Indiana, was that city land or unincorporated land later annexed into the village of Riverdale? Bill or Phil, when all of the suppression companies were at the former Midway house, ex 118, where were the ARFF rigs kept because it was a small 4 bay 2 story station. When 127 was at 64th and Central, was the Stickney Township area they covered now served by Bedford Park before that area was incorporated? Did it respond up to Burbank Manor to the south? Thanks for your answers in advance.
#9 by Phil Stenholm on January 17, 2018 - 12:26 PM
An interesting point about Chicago Fire Department ambulances is that when the first six were placed into service in 1928, they were for firemen ONLY, not for civilians.
The ambulances were designed to transport injured and sick firefighters to the hospital (not just firefighters injured at the scene of a fire, but also firefighters who were injured or got sick at the firehouse). With permission of a Chief Officer, a CFD ambulance could transport an off-duty firefighter to the hospital as well, and (again with permission of a Chief Officer) a CFD ambulance could transport a family member of a firefighter or a “VIP” (alderman, ward boss, etc) to the hospital, too.
Beginning in 1930, the restriction on the use of CFD ambulances was loosened as civilians injured in an incident where the CFD was on scene (fire, explosion, etc) could be transported to the hospital in a CFD ambulance. (It probably wasn’t a good look to pull civilian smoke inhalation or burn victims out of a building and have the CFD ambulance just sit there waiting for a fireman to get hurt). Besides two firefighters, interns from Loyola University Medical Center were assigned to CFD ambulances beginning in 1930 as well.
Five of the six ambulances were taken out of front-line service in 1937 as the result of budget cuts stemming from the Great Depression. Ambulance 3 and Ambulance 4 were transferred to the Chicago Board of Health (Contagious Disease Hospital), and Ambulance 5 and Ambulance 6 were sold to private ambulance companies. Ambulance 1 remained in service at Engine 1, and Ambulance 2 was unmanned but available for service at Engine 12.
During World War II, two Civil Defense Packard ambulances (painted white & blue) were donated to the City of Chicago by local businesses and were placed into service as CD Ambulance 3 (at Engine 75) and CD Ambulance 6 (at Engine 78). They were staffed by civilian volunteers and responded only to large fires and other major incidents. The two CD ambulances were repainted black over red and officially turned over to the CFD after World War II when the CFD ambulance service was reactivated, and one of the ex-CD Packards was the first Ambulance 16 (at O’Hare Field) in October 1955.
USMC Capt. (and Chicago firefighter) Joseph McCarthy (NOT the Wisconsin senator) was appointed CFD Supervisor of Ambulance Service in January 1946 after returning to the CFD from the Marine Corps. McCarthy was not an officer in the CFD (he was just a firefighter), but he had been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroic actions on Iwo Jima in February 1945 and so he was placed on the CFD “fast-track.” McCarthy was assigned to the Drill School, and was given the task to restore and then expand CFD ambulance service with new ambulances and better training.
Ambulance 2, Ambulance 5, and Ambulance 6 (Ambulance 5 and Ambulance 6 using the ex-CD Packard ambulances) had been placed back into service in November 1945, and Ambulance 3 and Ambulance 4 were returned to the CFD from the Board of Health in 1947. Ambulance 7 was established at the same time Ambulance 3 and Ambulance 4 went back into service with the CFD.
Over the next 16 years (1947-63), 18 additional ambulances were placed into service (an average of about one new ambulance per year, but sometimes more than one went into service at the same time). Eventually all the ambulances were Cadillacs, and there were 25 CFD ambulances in service through the 1960’s and into the 1970’s.
CFD ambulances began to respond to inhalator calls in 1956 in districts where the ambulance would be first-due (prior to 1956 only CFD squads responded to inhalator calls), but the CFD was still not permitted to transport civilians to the hospital unless the civilian was injured in a fire.
In 1970, the City of Chicago received a Federal Model Cities grant that allowed the CFD to place eight so-called “Model Cities Ambulances” (Ambulances 31-38) into service in four designated “Model Cities neighborhoods” (two ambulances each assigned to the Uptown, Lawndale, Grand Boulevard, and Woodlawn neighborhoods). The ambulances were placed in service in July 1970 and were staffed by civilians from the four Model Cities neighborhoods (with preference given to Vietnam vets) who were paid by funds from the federal grant.
Ambulance 31 and Ambulance 32 were red & white Ford Econoline vans, and the other six were white Pontiac/Superior ambulances, quite different from the “regular” black-over-red CFD Cadillac ambulances.
Ambulance 31 and Ambulance 32 were assigned to the Uptown neighborhood (Ambulance 31 at Engine 83/Truck 22 and Ambulance 32 at Flying Squad 6), Ambulance 33 and Ambulance 34 were assigned to the Lawndale neighborhood (Ambulance 33 at Engine 107/Truck 12 and Ambulance 34 at Engine 109/Truck 32), Ambulance 35 and Ambulance 36 were assigned to the Grand Boulevard neighborhood (Ambulance 35 at Engine 16 and Ambulance 36 at Engine 61), and Ambulance 37 and Ambulance 38 were assigned to the Woodlawn neighborhood (Ambulance 37 at Engine 122 and Ambulance 38 at Engine 60/Truck 37). Ambulance 38 was the only Model Cities ambulance assigned to a firehouse where a “regular” CFD ambulance was also assigned (Ambulance 25 and Ambulance 38 were both assigned to Engine 60/Truck 37).
Model Cities ambulances were kind of the exact opposite of the 25 CFD ambulances, in that they responded to calls at private residences and transported injured and sick civilians to the hospital (but only citizens from the Model Cities neighborhoods). The Model Cities ambulances were very busy (once residents found out they could go the hospital for free in an ambulance, the Model Cities ambulances became VERY popular!), and there was sometimes a waiting list (requiring FAO personnel to do an early form of triage).
With political pressure from wards outside Model Cities neighborhoods, the so-called “Model Cities” protocol was expanded city-wide in Spring 1972, which directed ALL CFD ambulances to transport sick and injured civilians to the hospital from private residences and businesses. Also, CFD firefighters assigned to the 25 CFD ambulances were replaced by civilians EMTs at this time. And this is when the number of ambulance calls exploded.
The CFD Advanced Life Support/Emergency Medical Services (Paramedic) program was implemented in the Summer of 1974, as all CFD ambulances (including the “Model Cities” ambulances) were gradually folded into the program. Ambulance 28 was the last BLS Cadillac ambulance to be taken out of service (Spring 1981), but there were already two ALS ambulances in service at O’Hare and Ambulance 28 was only assigned to transport patients to the hospital from obvious BLS calls that did not require an Advanced Life Support response.
#10 by Bill Post on January 17, 2018 - 12:52 AM
Thanks for the compliment LT501. You are correct about the battalion chief buggies being used as auxiliary ambulances however they first gave them station wagons to use as ambulances in 1958. The first year that the station wagons were purchased for the battalion chiefs half of them were Fords and the other half were Chevys and some of them were used for quite a few years before being replaced by new stations wagons. More new ones were also purchased in 1960 which were used on assigned to the battalions that didn’t get them in 1958 and a few of them would also be assigned to the the downtown battalions which were Battalions 1 located at Engine 1 and at Battalion 2 which was located on Erie west of Lasalle at Truck 3’s old station. Back in those days the battalions and the ambulances that were assigned downtown would always get new buggies and new Cadillacs assigned to them when every new models were purchased which was usually every couple of years or less. In those days the Chicago Fire Department had 30 to 31 battalions in service. The last battalion that was put in service was Battalion 31 that was put in service in the early 60’s and they were assigned to Midway Airport at the the fire station at Central east of 59th street also known as Engine 118. Before Battalion 31 was put in service Midway Airport and Garfield Ridge was assigned to the 26th Battalion which was located and Truck 41’s old house which was on the east side of Western Avenue and 60th Street so the runs for the battalion chief were quite long. Even after Battalion 31 was put in service Battalion 31 went as far east as Pulaski as far west as Harlem as far south as 87th Street (at Cicero going east) and as far north as the south branch of the Sanitary and Ship Canal which was at approximately 3900 south.
The problem with the battalion chief station wagons is that they normally weren’t given inhalators (oxygen and resuscitators) so they would be dispatched to accidents and people injured calls but if they needed an inhalator the CFD would still have to dispatch one of the 6 man squad companies to the call. There were 13 squads in service at the time however the squads not only had large districts but they would be automatically dispatched on all still alarms along with the first due engines and trucks.
The battalion chiefs were first given inhalators in 1967 and 68 when the last of the old squad companies were taken out of service. In the late 1970s the battalion chiefs were given brand new Suburbans and because of that they were given gurneys on wheels like the regular ambulances had however a few years later after the battalions were renumbered and redistricted the Suburbans were phased out and the battalion chiefs were given sedans (just like before 1958. Of course they stopped using the battalion chiefs on the EMS runs also as even though the suburbans were much roomier then the station wagons they still failed to meet the new ambulance size and headroom requirements and of course they were not paramedic units either. The CFD was also putting more ambulances in service at the time and the ambulance assist program begun in the mid 1980s so the EMS runs were no longer assigned to battalion chiefs by the mid 1980’s.
Yes the first two of the new modular van style ambulances were white with orange striping and were assigned to Ambulances 41 and 42 which had replaced Ambulances 1 and 21. I understand that they were repainted white over red a couple of years later so they could match the other new modular vans that Chicago was purchasing. They had first assigned those vans to Ambulances 41 and 42 during the summer of 1974 however the didn’t start using them as ALS units until early 1975. After Ambulances 41 and 42 were put in service. Ambulances 43,44,45 and 47 were also put in service. Ambulance 43 replaced Ambulance 11, Ambulance 44 replaced Ambulance 24, Ambulance 45 replaced Ambulance 2 and Ambulance 47 replaced Ambulance 7. There was no Ambulance 46 at the time. After those ambulances were renumbered the CFD had a change of heart and decided to stop renumbering the soon to become ALS ambulances because it wasn’t really worth changing the numbers on the ambulances so after that the other new ALS ambulances had either kept their old number and as they added more ambulances they had put some of the old numbers back in service as well. Ambulance 46 was put in service 7 years later in 1981 when the CFD was adding to their fleet.
#11 by LT501 on January 16, 2018 - 11:40 PM
Excellent histories. I would add that in the 70’s and possibly earlier, CFD used station wagons for their Batt.Chief buggies which were equipped with stretchers to serve as auxiliary ambulances as well. Since they were staffed by a B/C and a FF driver, I believe it was the driver who ended-up in back with the patient, while the Chief drove the rig to the hospital.
Also while Ambulance 16 at O’Hare may have been the first CFD paramedic unit, they continued to use their Cadillac. A short while after 16 went ALS, CFD began purchasing the type-1 modular ambulances, numbered them in the 40 series (exclusively ALS units) and began assigning them to firehouses throughout the city. As I recall, Amb-41 assigned to Eng-1’s house and Amb-42 assigned to Eng-13’s old house on Dearborn were originally all white with orange striping. That quickly changed to black over red cabs with white over red boxes. I also recall they ran with a crew of three…2 paramedics and 1 FF/EMT who served as the driver. The FF/EMT was eventually replaced by engine companies assisting the medics on EMS calls.
When I was a provisional paramedic, I rode with Amb-19’s crew out of Eng- 28’s house.
Whenever their new modular rig was in for maintenance, they would often get their old Cadillac. Since I always rode in the back, I found the Caddy to have a great view and great ride, but almost no room to work on a patient, let alone carry all the ALS gear.
#12 by Bill Post on January 16, 2018 - 2:05 PM
Phil thanks for the very interesting and informative histories of both Engines 127 and 118.
The reason why Ambulance 19 was put in service at Engine 127’s house while Ambulance 12 was located just over a half mile north with Engine 118 was due to an FAA regulation that required Ambulance 12 to stay on airport property and to give priority to EMS incidents at airport. Ambulance 19 was put in service to serve Garfield Ridge and the businesses and homes near the airport. At the time Midway was the busiest airport in the United States. Between 1959 and 1962, they transferred flights to the newly opened O’Hare Airport. O’Hare could accommodate jets that Midway couldn’t, and the title of busiest airport went to O’Hare.
In 1958 there weren’t very many ambulances in service in the Chicago Fire Department. When Engine 32 and Truck 60’s new house was opened in late 1959 about a mile west of Midway Airport, Ambulance 12 was moved to the new station at 5555 S Narragansett. They also relocated Ambulance 19 to Engine 28’s old house about a block or two from where the new house would be put several years later due to the new Southwest (Stevenson) Expressway that was being built. By relocating Ambulance 12 off of the airport, they could handle EMS runs in the adjacent neighborhoods. In those days CFD ambulances responded to EMS runs in private residences to use their inhalators (also called pulmotors) and to perform basic first aid, but they were not permitted to transport patients to a hospital. A private ambulance would make a removal or the police department would make sick removals in their squadrolls often referred to as paddy wagons. The police never even carried an inhalator let alone oxygen yet they were permitted to remove victims as well as prisoners and DOAs. During the 1950’s and early 60’s the fire department was gradually increasing the size of their ambulance fleet which by then were exclusively Cadillacs, however at the beginning Ambulance 19 was a Ford station wagon. In 1963 the last four Cadillacs were put in service with Ambulances 22, 23, 24, and 25. The next ambulances were Ambulances 31 through 38 and they weren’t added until 1970. Those were model cities ambulances, part of the federal Model Cities program. They were allowed to remove patients from private residences but only in designated areas. At the same time the CFD put a second ambulance in service at O’Hare. It was originally called Ambulance 16A and later was changed to Ambulance 26. One of the reasons for that was O’Hare was isolated from the rest of the city and Ambulance 16 was about to become the first CFD paramedic ambulance. They were taking part in the pilot paramedic program with nearby suburbs before the city began running with paramedics in early 1975. It wasn’t until 1972 that Chicago’s rules were changed and all of the ambulances were allowed to remove patients from their homes.
Even though the CFD began offering ambulance service to the public in the mid 1940s, there were only 12 ambulances in service in 1950. The squad companies were still first due on inhalator runs until around 1956 when Ambulances 13, 14, and 15 were put in service. Ambulance 16 was technically in service before them as they had already established a CFD presence at the future O’Hare Field. Even though the CFD began running with paramedics in the mid 1970s, the Chicago Police still occassioinally used their paddy wagons for emergency transport.
It wasn’t so much that the police were providing ambulance service for many years but they were poorly equipped and their wagons were unsanitary since they also were used for prisoner transport and body removals.
#13 by Phil Stenholm on January 16, 2018 - 12:24 PM
BILL: Very good point. No question the CFD could have benefited and probably still could benefit from automatic-aid agreements with suburban fire departments in some of the more-remote city border areas (like Clearing) where a suburban fire station might be closer than the nearest CFD firehouse.
As you know, there was actually a time when several CFD engine companies routinely responded to alarms outside city limits and suburban fire departments would respond to alarms in the city (like the mutual-aid pact where CFD Engine Co. 118 and the Riverdale and Dolton fire departments responded together). In addition, the City of Chicago would sometimes engage in a formal contract to provide fire protection to areas outside city limits, most notably with the Village of Lincolnwood and with the Clearing Transfer & Clearing Co. in Stickney Township.
Engine Co. 127 was relocated from the CFD Drill School (where it had been the Drill School Replacement Co. since 1920) to the new firehouse at 6405 S. Central in September 1925 after the City of Chicago entered into a contract with the Chicago Transfer & Clearing Company to provide fire protection to the Clearing District. At that time, the Clearing District was located in both the City of Chicago and in Stickney Township, so Engine 127 routinely responded to alarms outside the city limits. (Although occupied by the CFD, the Engine 127 firehouse was constructed and owned by the Chicago Transfer & Clearing Co.).
In addition to providing fire protection to the Clearing District, Engine Co. 127 was also first-due to Chicago Air Park (known as Chicago Municipal Airport beginning in 1927 and then as Midway Airport beginning in 1950) from 1925-42, until Engine Co. 118 was reorganized at CMA during World War II. (Engine Co. 118 had been relocated from a firehouse at 13567 S. Indiana to the new Engine 65/Truck 52 firehouse at 3000 W. 42nd Street in 1930 with a plan to eventually move Engine Co. 118 and the proposed Truck Co. 54 into a new firehouse to be constructed at 51st Street & Keeler, but that plan was indefinitely tabled and Engine Co. 118 was taken out of service in 1931 due to budget cuts stemming from the Great Depression).
Chicago Air Park was built on the site of a former railroad freight transfer & clearing depot in 1923, and so the area surrounding it was called the Clearing District (or Clearing Industrial District). Squad 9 was relocated from the firehouse at 1653 W. 43rd Street to Engine 127 in July 1927 and was reorganized as Truck Co. 40, and then Engine Co. 127 and Truck Co. 40 were combined as Combination Co. 127 (an eight-man company operating a new American LaFrance 1000 GPM quad truck) in April 1932. (Truck Co. 40 eventually resurfaced during World War II at Engine 121).
Combination Co. 127 remained in service as a combination company until March 1950, when the company was once again split up. Engine Co. 127 remained in service at the Clearing firehouse and the long-proposed and newly-organized Truck Co. 54 was placed into service at the new Engine 118 firehouse at 5837 S. Central (Midway Airport), as Engine 118 and Truck 54 finally got together. The new Midway Airport firehouse was located only about a half-mile north of Engine 127’s firehouse, so it probably would have made sense to just move Engine Co. 127 to the new Midway Airport firehouse as well (since the Midway Airport firehouse driveway had direct access to Central Avenue), but the contract with the Chicago Transfer & Clearing Company required the CFD to continue to staff an engine company at the firehouse at 6405 S. Central.
Ambulance 19 was originally placed into service at Engine 127 in 1958, but it didn’t get many runs and so it was relocated to Engine 28/Truck 8 in 1959. Several spare airport crash rigs were parked in the second bay (the truck bay) at Engine 127 off & on in the 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s, but otherwise it was occupied by just the one engine company.
Engine Co. 127 once again became the first-due engine company to Midway Airport in January 1974 after Engine Co. 118 was taken out of service at the Midway Airport firehouse, and so Engine Co. 127 started getting a few more runs than had previously been the case. Engine Co. 127 and the Midway Airport units were combined in a new Engine 127 mega-firehouse at 5200 W. 63rd Street (south side of Midway Airport) in January 1992.
#14 by Bill Post on January 16, 2018 - 7:08 AM
While it came as a surprise when both Engine 20 and Truck 12 were taken out of service on new year’s day in 1992, it was an even bigger surprise in 1982 when Truck 12 moved into Engine 13’s new house in the east loop. While there was a recommendation to move Engine 13 to that area in the Maatman report (the study that was largely responsible for building and relocating the newer stations in the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s) there was never a recommendation to move Truck 12 downtown from Engine 107’s house.
In the 1980’s however the Chicago Fire Department did an in-house study that was released in 1986 and recommended five new stations on the south side. Four were to be built south of 95th street, and the fifth was to be near 63rd and Cicero on the east end of the airport. The Midway companies which were near Central and 59th Street, Engine 127 that was near Central and 64th Street, and Truck 12 were all recommended for the new station. The station was opened near 63rd and Laramie a few years later without Truck 12.
In case you were wondering why the study recommended moving Engine 127’s house as far east as Cicero Avenue when they could have used it closer to the west end of the airport, Bedford Park had a station that was about two blocks south of Engine 127’s old house at 6535 S Central. The study recommended that Bedford Park and a few other nearby towns enter automatic aid agreements with Chicago. Bedford Park would have responded into the Clearing, Garfield Ridge, and Midway Airport areas covered by Engines 127, 32, and Truck 60. That never materialized even though it made alot of sense. Bedford Park eventually relocated Station 2 about a half mile further east. An automatic aid agreement would also have made sense with the Central Stickney FPD. Their station at 49th street near Lotus Avenue is on the north end of Garfield Ridge a few blocks from the Chicago border
So instead of following their own advice, the CFD management ended up taking Truck 12 out of service.
It is ironic that Truck 12 today has taken the place of Truck 43 which was taken out of service at Engine 110’s house on November 16th 1971. Tower Ladder 14 has more or less taken over Truck 46’s still district. Truck 46 went out of service on the same date as Truck 43. Truck 46 was at 4666 W Fulton Street with Engine 67 and the old 23rd Battalion. About 9 years later they moved in with Engine 117 when the new station was opened at 4900 W Chicago a little less then a mile north of there.
#15 by Bill Post on January 15, 2018 - 7:42 PM
Thanks for putting up the orders and the maps Steve. There is some interesting history that came before January 1st 1992 when those changes took place. During the 1960’s and 70’s when quite a few engines, some trucks and squads were taken out of service, it was Engine 30 that was recommended to be closed and not Engine 20.
Both the 1964 and the 1968 Maatman reports recommended Engine 30 be taken out of service as to this day theirs is the oldest active fire house in Chicago. It is also a very small and narrow station (makes you wonder how they squeeze the engine inside). Engine 20’s house was somewhat newer and slightly wider however Engine 30 had clout that Engine 20 didn’t. I understand there was a local commerce association that didn’t want Engine 30’s house closed so it remained opened. Eventually when Commissioner Orozco was looking to shut down companies it was Engine 20 that was taken out of service.