New quint for Elgin « chicagoareafire.com

New quint for Elgin

From CityofElgin.org:

Elgin City Council exhibit for purchase of Pierce quint fire truck

click to download

thanks Ron

Tags: Elgin FD orders Pierce Enforcer Ascendant quint, Elgin Fire Department, new quint for Elgin FD

This entry was posted on February 6, 2020, 11:00 AM and is filed under Fire Department News, New Apparatus Order. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

47 Comments

#1 by Mike C on February 14, 2020 - 7:05 AM

I hope this gives Sebastian a better understanding on why Quints aren’t worth the hype they receive. To add onto what John Tobin and Ron A mentioned, pump and ladder testing is costly. Maintenance on trucks in general is extremely costly let alone throw a pump on there.

In terms of the 75′ ladders, this is one of the biggest wastes of money out there! Especially when they’re on a single axle! They carry limited amount of tools, hose, and ladders and it’s not uncommon for a 75′ ladder to be unable to reach the necessary point. The 75′ Quint that Elgin has probably won’t even reach houses in district 7 territory without backing it into the driveway. I also heard that Addison is to keep quiet about their 75′ Quint mistake. I know of a couple other departments running 75′ Quints who will also say the ladder just doesn’t cut it. Pierce clearly reached a big demand with a 100′ + ladder. The unfortunate part is, they’re still on a single axle with limited space for tools, hose, and ladders. The Ascendant and all the components is also lightweight. It also has so many limitations on it, that factor with when and where it can be used.
#2 by The DH on February 11, 2020 - 10:19 AM

Last I heard, Addison was under somewhat of a gag order from above to not discuss the quints. I will say that I have noticed that one of the quints is typically OOS and running an engine. I can’t say much from the operations and how they changed once they got the quints. However, I will say, they came mutual aid to my town on an activated alarm. The quints were new at this point, they set it up on the house and were not able to make the roof…a major downside to any 75ft stick.
#3 by David on February 11, 2020 - 9:48 AM

I’m surprised that Addison hasn’t been brought up in this conversation. For an all quint department I wonder how their operations differ from a traditional department.

Also, Harry please consider using proper grammar and capitalization. Reading your posts give me a headache.
#4 by Ron Antor on February 11, 2020 - 6:33 AM

John is right on with all the issues related to the quint. Most of those really come to light when the rig is run as an engine company. Although the concept seems like a good idea there is one problem, its like a Swiss Army knife, the quint can perform many functions, but none of them like the single purpose item. So as most things go in the fire service, what is old is new and the discussions will go on and on and on.
#5 by John tobin on February 10, 2020 - 9:12 PM

Wow this got personal fast…..other than within a semi small circle I don’t like to preach which rig is best because there is always a story out there. However the “do more with less” trendy mind sets has led to the quint concept, which has proven to be very expensive, even tried and abandoned. As I stated before this is the electronic age….couple that with NFPA mandated interlocks (there is a general lack of interest/understanding of how rigs work) pumps and water tanks being squeezed onto the chassis, it not only makes quints very complicated and expensive to purchase, it makes them astronomically expensive to maintain, not to mention the specialized equipment needed to even do diagnostic tests……couple this with what these rigs weigh, (many on a single rear axle) it takes its toll on everything from tires, to suspension systems, frames, even to the aerial device itself being pounded down the road chasing ambulances, short staffed by what the cities see a a trendy cost cutting mindset…..
#6 by harry on February 10, 2020 - 12:53 PM

mike c are u by chance on facebook because if u are I would happy to show u some beautiful fire engines trucks and tankers and cars and pickups from fd while I know florida is not the Chicago area but palm beach gardens fl not only has very new rigs and they are pierce right now but they are going to seagrave next year and the only reason is because the service center for pierce are not fast enough fo them but overall the pierces have been pretty decent but time will tell
#7 by harry on February 10, 2020 - 12:28 PM

mike c all those u mentioned galena I have not seen but streamwood st Charles Chicago been there done that those aside from the galena one are plain janes not unique enough for me but I have seen them pa ny nj ct ri ma fl are many exaples of beautiful fire vehicles and one town in maine still runs a I believe a 1960 maxim aerial still frontline but yes mike I can tell u if u wanted to quiz me photoshop the name of the dept off the rig I bet I can tell u what dept it is I have now been to well over 300 depts. one of which is reedy creek fl fire rescue they have a very unique rig a Peterbilt bronto
#8 by harry on February 10, 2020 - 12:09 PM

mike c well if u don’t believe me ask the franklin park il fd how many problems the seagrave truck had they had spent almost 300 000 in repairs in not even 13 years that is terrible and there 99 pierce engine had far less problems than the seagrave and once again if a ff tells me info how is that sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong because mike east coast and fl will always have the best vehicles and do u know why I am curious
#9 by Tim on February 10, 2020 - 11:30 AM

Where’s Dennis in all of this? Dennis you still out there?
#10 by Mike C on February 10, 2020 - 8:32 AM

Sebastian, what board meeting are you referring to? To the best of my knowledge the fire department doesn’t have a board meeting open to the public with the exception of the city council meetings which discusses little with the functionality of the fire department operations. I’m glad you like to be informed but you’re spewing inaccurate information. Before you post on here, maybe research and retrieve more in-depth the facts.

Hairy, you personally think Pierce, E-One, and Sutphen are the best for what reason? Because people tell you so? You have no experience with any of these brands. You have no experience with Seagrave and your opinion is based off of what one department supposedly told you. I have no idea what you are referring to in terms of Park Ridge and Elmwood Park. I have never referenced anything pertaining to these departments. Your grammar is so poor we can barely make out what you’re saying half the time.

Cmk420, you are spot on about Hairy sticking his nose in where it doesn’t belong. I like that he states he has no reason to visit Elgin. To the best of my knowledge he doesn’t have a reason to visit any of these departments. It’s one thing to be an enthusiast but Hairy and Sebastian are know it alls. They’re both so “informed” but neither of them have any knowledge or experience within the fire service except for supposedly attending board meetings, visiting stations, and maybe reading a blog here and there. Hairy even goes on to say the apparatus in the area is very plain and not unique. How does someone come to such a conclusion? Well, I know he used to determine apparatus to be unique based on the color scheme, and lighting package. I’ll admit I’m kind of a light geek, but there’s a lot more to apparatus that makes them unique besides the color scheme and the lighting. I personally see a lot of unique and special apparatus in Northern Illinois. Galena’s T-Rex, Cicero’s Tiller, Streamwood’s Towers, Chicago O’Hares apparatus and the 55′ articulating booms, St. Charles has some very unique apparatus. I could go on and on about the unique and special apparatus in the area.

I’m starting to think about abandoning this site. There are a few degenerates (Sebastian and Hairy) that know it all but realistically know very little. I think it’s time these two sit back and view and leave their “expertise” to the real experts.
#11 by harry on February 9, 2020 - 9:37 PM

cmk420and yes that is your opinion like I have said b4 I don’t stick my nose where it does not belong depts. tell me for instance with Skokie getting the new freightliner that they just bought for the last ambo I would not have known they were getting it if they did not tell me now to be perfectly clear if it is a dept I like or love like palm beach gardens fl then I do ask what they are getting because I wnt too stay ahead picture wise of what they are getting for instance I was just in Jacksonville fl and the ff told me I did not ask they told me the very station I was at station 22 is the busiest in the city I would not have known that had they not told me than a lot of depts. but depts. around here are very plain and not unique
#12 by Cmk420 on February 9, 2020 - 7:33 PM

Way to rub it in Harry. The reason you get a lot of this information is I am of the opinion that you stick your nose in where it shouldn’t. Again, everyone is free to share their opinions on this site, yourself included. Sometimes you’re right, sometimes you’re not.
Everyone is going to have their opinions on who the best/worst fire apparatus manufacturers are. Right now, I am partial to the ones my department uses & the ones down the road from us too. Even some of the ones, where I live, look sharp. They all have their pros and cons, so let’s just leave it at that.
#13 by harry on February 9, 2020 - 5:53 PM

well mike when u complain about pierce but say seagrave is great tell franklin park that they will tell u different personally pierce eone and sutphen are the best and if pierce are junk why is it that Milwaukee has been loyal to pierce for many years as for u saying I don’t know anything why is it I called it dead on that pk ridge and Elmwood pk il are getting the ascentdent and u didn’t think I was right as for elgin I have never been there and have no reason to go
#14 by Sebastian on February 9, 2020 - 11:16 AM

Mike C!! You don’t know me and I don’t know you! I am not judging nor am I insulting anyone!! Please don’t insult me or judge me!!! I live in Elgin and I actually go to the board meetings when they are held!! I like to be an informed citizen and i do have family and friends that work both in fire and police!! So i suggest you keep your insults to yourself!!
Thank you
#15 by Mike C on February 9, 2020 - 6:38 AM

Sebastian, you accuse others on the post of being an armchair quarterback but then get corrected for multiple things by the Elgin firefighter. Clearly you aren’t that informed. You’re right up there with Harry. Your inaccurate comments are counter-productive.
#16 by Tim on February 8, 2020 - 6:45 PM

Mike, I never said the suburbs don’t need trucks. So please re-read my posts again and maybe it’ll help”your cause”.
#17 by Sebastian on February 8, 2020 - 2:37 PM

Jim,
You hit the nail on the head with sharing resources. Glenview/Northfield fire departments are the best example of that. They both share truck 14. Both departments names are on the truck and both departments split the operating costs of the truck. Glenview only uses that truck when the current is oos! Its a win win for both towns!
#18 by Jim on February 8, 2020 - 12:55 PM

Mike,
When communities go into an agreement, they need to understand the ramifications of that agreement. If they don’t have an aerial apparatus but need one, maybe they offset the costs by contributing toward maintenance or other costs. If both communities are good with it, then why is it a problem?

MABAS 21,
Your example of Summit is excellent. The Bedford Park firehouse is right down the road less than a mile. Could Bedford Park functionally consolidate with Summit and move Summit’s manpower to the Bedford Park Station and make that a double house? There would be an engine, truck and ambulance out of that house providing better coverage to both communities. Bridgeview Station 1 could be functionally consolidated with Bedford Park Station 3 making that house a double house with an engine, truck and ambulance providing better coverage to both communities. Why wouldn’t this work? You said Chicago Ridge was an abuser for ambulances and that may be true but that is all the more reason to have that functional consolidation. I believe Chicago Ridge instead hired part time less paid people to staff an additional ambulance. The tax well does go dry and unless we come up with better solutions than less paid people, we will be stuck in this never ending cycle.
#19 by MABAS 21 on February 8, 2020 - 12:07 PM

Jim;
It is not a neighboring department’s or district’s responsibility to constantly provide mutual aid to another department because the stricken village and/or department administration fails to provide the necessary services to the public WHEN they have AVAILABLE budgets for additional staffing and vehicles and choose not to operate properly. These department’s tie-up resources from their neighbors who are PAID by their own taxpayers who EXPECT services for THEIR town or district, not to cover their next door neighbor. Now who suffers?

Chicago Ridge was a frequent abuser of mutual aid. They would constantly call Oak Lawn, Bridgeview and North Palos for EMS runs because they would only staff one ambulance. How can you have a large commercial tax base and cry poor? When Chicago Ridge finally staffed a second ambulance, mutual aid requests dropped drastically. Chicago Ridge still relys heavily on mutual aid because they get wacked with multiple calls at once.

Summit is another example in which they constantly call Bedford Park and Central Stickney for mutual aid ambulances, and now McCook and Forestview because the latter had enough of the burden. This is an absolute and total abuse of mutual aid! It is not what mutual aid was intended for.

Politicians with axes to grind with their fire departments, lack of priority to public safety funding because of beautification projects and poor management without backbones are usually the cause of inadequate staffing and services provided.

If you review the MABAS guidelines, mutual aid is to be utilized for when a department is stricken by a major incident that taxes them beyond their available resources, not as a band-aid for the inability to cover routine calls.

Automatic Aid is another animal. It is premade response agreements to cover a routine still alarm assignment to provide minimum staffing/apparatus for AFA’s, smell of smoke/gas or a reported fire. We in the fire service have no issue with automatic aid because it is RECIPROCAL with each other. Yes it can be aggravating if a department has occupancies that have multiple auto aid calls throughout a shift at the same location, but this is a different story. Automatic Aid is generally not abused as a band-aid fix for others shortcomings.

In Elgin’s case, the city administrators and bean counters are well aware of the expansion and annexation to the west and knowledge of needing additional fire stations built and staffed property. But instead of addressing the issue of service/protection inadequacies they choose to burden their neighbors who are already taxed with their own responses. This is on top of taking dedicated companies out of service and also utilizing jump companies for an already below minimum coverage for their previous city limits prior to the annexations.
#20 by Mike on February 8, 2020 - 11:48 AM

Jim I agree with you about consolidation of departments and some resources, but also were do you draw the line? Staffing drives everything. If you only have staffing for 1 apparatus but you constantly need more help then you need to hire people. If you’re constantly depending on your neighbor for a piece of equipment then you need that piece of equipment. If Nobody buys anything because the guy next door has it eventually nobody is going to have anything.
#21 by Sebastian on February 8, 2020 - 11:21 AM

Mike C.. please speak for yourself!!! I’m not disrespecting anyone on this blog!! I am an informed tax paying resident of Elgin!! Plus if God forbid I would ever need help from firefighters or medics, I couldn’t care less in what equipment or brand truck they show up in!! I would have equipment that i can staff than rather having extra equipment that I cannot afford to staff and than am forced to lay people off or pay maintenance costs for jump companies because i have to have the xtra equipment but can’t staff it properly! With the fire service being 90% ems runs these days I think quints are perfectly fine! But this is my opinion and only mine
#22 by Jim on February 8, 2020 - 9:39 AM

I think the problem with the suburban fire service is we try to emulate the city of Chicago while trying to remain separate communities. Mutual aid was created and that morphed into automatic aid. Automatic aid gets us closer but we still have comments like Mike saying it’s not one community’s problem to help the other. Imagine if Chicago did the same thing amongst their communities. Do we think that the tax base in the Englewood would support the firefighting force there? Or what about Austin? Bronzeville? Its not west Englewood’s problem to help Englewood? Would that make sense? They wouldn’t have the tax base and comments like that wouldn’t make sense but by sharing resources they are able to create a larger firefighting force. Do double houses make sense in some areas, yes. Do firehouses a mile away from each other make sense, no but they belong to different communities so we can’t do anything about it. Look back at the history of firehouses in Chicago. A lot of single company houses combined. Fire chiefs and union officials should be pushing for more functional consolidations so that resources can be shared. Will some communities pay more, yes. Will the larger force help those communities paying more, yes. It may be decided that one firehouse could be shut down and the personnel moved to the firehouse a mile away, in another village, to create a double house to protect a little larger area. I know this won’t work in all areas but in a majority it will. Unfortunately, we will continue to see communities struggle and solutions that don’t make sense like quints become the norm.
#23 by Mike C on February 8, 2020 - 6:57 AM

Ron, I didn’t know bigger is better. Do you have first hand experience with fire apparatus? Maybe some of the rigs E-One produced in the 80’s weren’t so good but from my experience they were simple, reliable, and ugly. I had great luck with them. If Pierce is such a great product, why have they had multiple recalls with the TAK4? FYI: The TAK4 is not the same suspension used on military chassis’ as advertised by Pierce. I can’t even keep track of the amount of Pierce rigs that lost their wheels from faulty components. Look at the aerial failures Pierce has had from a glitch in the Command Zone. Pierce is a low end builder with a prestigious name. I have seen Spartan’s and pretty much every other brand outperform a Pierce time and time again.

As the Elgin firefighter says below, he validates the issues Elgin has had with the current rigs. Look at the St. Charles Truck 101. I think they use that old Seagrave low profile ladder more than the frontline Pierce ladder. To many people are focused on Pierces innovations which are so appealing from their amazing marketing rather than focusing on the quality and reliability of the apparatus. One thing I can say is that I can pretty much guarantee the overall vehicle maintenance costs on a Pierce is significantly higher than most other brands.

Why is Sebastian such a critic when we already know he is just an enthusiast and not involved in the fire service?
#24 by Mike on February 7, 2020 - 10:41 PM

Tom, if you need to know: dalton, Harvey, country club hills, blue island, cal city, soho. I’m sure you get the point now. It’s not just fires genus, how about automatic alarms, accidents, special duties? How about just available fire apparatus. Like I said. With this concept this will mean only 1 fire company per firehouse. Yes trucks in the suburbs are necessary. Yes I’ve worked off quints, I’ve also worked off of regular trucks with 300 gallons of water on them. Yeah it sucks. Thankfully we have people like you saying we don’t need trucks in the suburbs to help our cause. BTW you’re gonna use NFPA and say you need 2 operators on a quint but ISO doesn’t count….ok.
#25 by Tim on February 7, 2020 - 9:27 PM

Mike, again you need to re-read my previous post. It does not say “why do we need all this equipment?” My point was how can suburban departments justify running seperate engines and trucks for a few fires a year? THAT’s what administrators are looking at. This is not Fantasy Land it’s realistic. Again, re-read the post as it says “I’m not a fan of quints”. What jobs are you’r friends on out south?
There is not one dept that runs a quint correctly anyway. Per NFPA you need 6 peeps….2 have to be operators.

Ever ride a quint Mike? Complete pain in the A$$. Ever respond to a fire with multiple quints? Who’s doing what? I don’t know? We’ll do something I guess. Hope the 75 footer doesn’t park in front because our 100 footer is better.
#26 by sebastian on February 7, 2020 - 7:18 PM

Not sure why people are against quints??
#27 by Mike on February 7, 2020 - 6:04 PM

Tim I’m probably as old or older then you. Yeah I know what’s going on down south, I have friends on jobs down there. Most are running 2 man companies but aren’t replacing or reducing what they have with quints and saying it’s ok like you’re saying. I also know where we rate. Look at lake and mchenry county where 2/2 or jump companies are the norm. Again you’re the one who said why do we need all this equipment, not me. So according to you Chicago should only have trucks everyone else should have quints. Logical.
#28 by Tim on February 7, 2020 - 5:55 PM

Mike I don’t need a dissertation on the difference between fire apparatus. I may have rode on an engine, truck, tower ladder, tiller in my career. You missed the point of my post. Sure advocating for more apparatus and more manpower is a great idea. I don’t know if you’re old enough to pay property taxes or not but taxpayers don’t care about that stuff and some insurance companies don’t even use ISO anymore. Some chiefs don’t even care what they do to their departments because they’re looking to advance their careers politically.

I’d love to see 4 or 5 guys on every suburban rig but it’s unrealistic. How many depts. are running a 4 man house 2 for the fire rig and 2 for the ambo? Come out south and see what guys in Blue Island, Riverdale, Harvey and Dolton are doing. They’re doing alot with not much. You think their administrations give a damn about ISO ratings. You’re preaching to the choir but I hope you’re aware what position the fire dept. is at on the municipal totem pole. Unfortunately, road salt is more important than us.
#29 by Mike on February 7, 2020 - 1:10 PM

Tim are you even a firemen? Engines and ladders have different responsibilities on the fireground. In some cases where departments are smaller or have less run volume maybe a quint would work, but in most cases it doesn’t. Placement, equipment, allocation of personnel and resources cause problems. We need to as group, firemen and chiefs, educated and advocate for staffing and apparatus. ISO ratings, response times, wear and tear and unit availability all play parts in this. So basically Elgin for example will have 1 fire company per firehouse. On a typical fire or fire alarm 1/3-1/2 the fire companies if available would respond where is they had 7 engines and 3-4 trucks it would actually be reduced to 1/5-1/4 of the department responding and still have units available to cover other calls. Everyone keeps saying “we’ll just use mutual aid” we’ll that’s not what mutual aid was intended for. Why should another department be forced into being your truck company? Or why should your residents be dependent on a neighboring town for fire protection or essential pieces of equipment? Where is the line drawn?
#30 by JOHN TOBIN on February 7, 2020 - 12:38 PM

To clarify,……I was remiss in not including the word QUINT (a must anymore) in my statement about my recommendation for a tandem axle 100+ straight stick….I left out the part of it being a Quint and in addition to my recommendation, due to the distance for the second company to travel, perhaps the QUINT should actually carry a bit more than 500 gallons of water.
#31 by Tim on February 7, 2020 - 12:23 PM

You guys need to keep one thing in mind. It’s all about money. Although I’m not a quint fan it works for the suburbs. How do you justify manned engines and true trucks for a hand full of fires a year? So you use jump companies or quints or more mutual aid. The big cities, that’s a different story. And it’s not about fires or trucks or engines anymore. It’s about lift assists, picking up “ill subjects” at the PD lockup, 30 year olds with a cough, a stubbed toe, carrying the fat guy down the stairs so he can go to the doctor, or the other countless non emergent EMS runs that need to be covered.

Because of the generational shift or the change in society, we’re not talking about the fire service of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.
#32 by JOHN TOBIN on February 7, 2020 - 12:21 PM

In one of my last efforts at preserving what I thought to be important…..I pushed for a 100’+ tandem Axle straight stick @ #7…..after the gasp (paraphrasing) of such a silly idea, I put a challenge out to come up with a percentage of how many roof tops a 75′ aerial would actually reach in it’s district. Never got passed first base, or like don’t confuse me with the facts…….many see the rig a Eunuch….or a more politically correct name a Sporke. At least now it’s at a better spot so it can actually reach something. PS the idea of taking A-3 out of service was a great dis-service to the community…..to think that auto aid will fill the gap is a dis-service to the neighboring commutes already strapped for resources.
#33 by Behind the Mic on February 7, 2020 - 12:08 PM

Joliet is doing the same thing. There is one dedicated truck (Truck 1on the east side), and the other two are quints. Tower 6 (which is currently out of service, and replaced by an engine), and Quint 9 (formerly Quint 8), which replaced Engine 9/Truck 9. Quint 9 is a 20+ year old 75′ E-One with a lot of wear and tear on it. I don’t know of any plans to replace it either.
Joliet has been good about replacing engines and ambulances, but it almost seems like they don’t really care about their truck companies.
If anyone has better insight or info, I’m all for hearing it.
#34 by Mike on February 7, 2020 - 10:48 AM

Another smart move by Elgin… why don’t they just go back to total jump companies and then end it. For the size of elgin having 3 dedicated truck companies is still probably not enough. I wonder what their ISO rating will go to now since they have no dedicated truck companies. Naperville going from truck companies to quints is the same downgrade. First the tru squad companies have gone by the wayside now it’s truck coverage. This job is digressing day by day as people seem to get more educated.
#35 by Sebastian on February 7, 2020 - 10:37 AM

Austin, please read last sentence of mike c’s comment! He called it pathetic!!! Also when station 7 opened 8 years ago they started out with just an engine and Ambo before switching to the quint! Personally i think that engine 3 has the longest run area of any of their stations and they are a single engine house! They run as far as 2 miles past I-90 on randal road and as far down and lake street And randle. Do i agree with the decision NO! But as long as they keep the citizens and fire fighters safe!! I really don’t care how they do it!!
#36 by Austin on February 7, 2020 - 9:30 AM

Sebastian no one is calling Elgin a crap town, but the decision is just a little perplexing. A city of 115k people should be self sufficient, and not rely on their neighbors for mutual aid in order to not have as much apparatus. The thing I think you are forgetting is how huge the district is. Station 7 which has 5 bays, will only have an ambo and a quint? First what was the point of building a massive station if it won’t be fully utilized? Also that station covers a huge area, and an area that keeps growing. So is their plan to rely on South Elgin, Fox River Countryside or Pingree Grove for emergencies? I get the station holds reserves, but that doesn’t do anything for the area as far as coverage. They are building a lot off of Corron Road and McDonald Road, which is pretty damn far away from Station 7. South Elgin’s station is very close, but should they always be first due for a different city’s emergencies? That is what I find odd about this situation.
#37 by Mike L on February 7, 2020 - 8:42 AM

John Tobin, yes indeed. Sad times. I have to laugh at Naperville’s plan to go down to 2 truck companies being seen as better coverage. Because 2 is better than 3 in ICMA language. They, too, screwed the pooch years ago when they dropped Truck 1 and Truck 9 as dedicated companies. I believe that was when they got that HJ from out west that allowed the city to gut the FD. Oh, well. There are enough bootlickers in the fire service to allow this to keep happening.
#38 by Elgin FF on February 7, 2020 - 7:40 AM

No disrespect to Sebastian but you are the armchair quarterback. There are multiple inaccuracies with your post.

1. While Truck 2 is a quint, it has never been referred to as Quint 2.
2. The rescue at station 2 is not referred to as rescue 2 as this is not a city rig. This rig belongs to MABAS Division 2.
3. The MABAS rescue is not a jump company between the ambulance. The rescue is operated by members of the TRT team within MABAS division 2.
4. West Dundee and South Elgin do assist us when we have a truck out of service but not limited to just these two departments. MABAS division 2 has several trucks that will support us when in need such at Bartlett, Algonquin/LITH, Carpentersville (if they still have a truck), Hampshire, Hoffman, Streamwood. We also have surrounding towns who support us on an auto-aid agreement.
5. Have you seen Truck 2 the past 2 months? We have been jumping between the reserve Seagrave pumper and the Seagrave ladder while Truck 2 is out for service. It was out of service for more than a month, came back for a short time and back out of service the past month. Both Pierce rigs in our fleet have been problematic and some of the problems have been very costly to fix. When one of the trucks is out of service and the Seagrave ladder is gone we’ll run on a reserve engine. I don’t see either of the current Pierce rigs sticking around as long as previous rigs as they don’t appear to be holding up well.

Since I have no say on what’s purchased. I just go to work, do my best, and represent Local 439 and the citizens of Elgin to the best of my ability.
#39 by Big Moe on February 6, 2020 - 9:24 PM

Kyle, the new generation of Enforcer chassis’ are very comfortable and really nice. The Arrow XT cab is the most narrow custom cab in the industry. If you find it comfortable, the Enforcer will be even more so. The Enforcer also takes big block motors like the Arrow XT. Its one piece windshield and wiper system are better than the Arrow Xt wind screen.
#40 by John Tobin on February 6, 2020 - 9:21 PM

Lots of interesting and true comments here…..Elgin has finally entered into the quint concept, lol. I feel bad as I was once so proud of the fleet. The city has set it’s site on gutting the fire department and they feel it is trendy doing more with less…..I feel bad for the guys and the chief trying to make things work. It is the electronic age and along with that, I do believe the quint concept along with the wear and tear of the loaded to the eye balls quints will cost the city dearly in the not too distant future.
#41 by Kyle R. on February 6, 2020 - 8:12 PM

Why did Elgin opt for the Enforcer cab when the other Pierce cabs are on the Arrow XT? I don’t have any experience with the current generation Enforcer but the previous generation had no cab room. It was so tight and uncomfortable.
#42 by Kyle R. on February 6, 2020 - 7:51 PM

Talk about giving the bare minimum for the trade in’s. In regards to the apparatus remaining in the fleet Elgin will have the following once this Pierce arrives.

Station 1: 2020 or 2021 Pierce Enforcer Ascendent (Currently using 2010 Pierce 75’ ladder)(Labeled as Quint 7)

Station 2: 2012 Pierce Arrow XT Aluminum Tower

Station 3: 2017 E-One Typhoon Pumper

Station 4: 2009 KME Severe Service Pumper

Station 5: 2015 E-One Typhoon Pumper

Station 6: 2007 Seagrave Marauder Pumper or 2009 KME Severe Service Pumper (Currently using a the reserve 2009 KME Pumper)

Station 7: 2010 Pierce Arrow XT 75 Alluminum Ladder (Currently using 2009 KME pumper)

Reserve Apparatus: 2005 Seagrave Marauder and the 2007 Seagrave Marauder Pumper or the 2009 KME Severe Service Pumper. I know the 2005 Seagrave will be a reserve but not sure if the KME or 2007 Seagrave will be the reserve.

My apology if the years specified are a year off on the apparatus.

All stations have an F450 Ford Wheeled Coach 4×4 ambulance with the exception of station 3. All ambulances are manned full time except Ambulance 6 which is only manned part-time.
Elgin will have 3 full time trucks when this truck arrives. The entire fleet is currently in subpar condition. They have the beautiful maintenance facility that isn’t used anywhere close to it’s full potential. They don’t have a full time mechanic or any certified technicians maintaining the apparatus. There are a few firefighters who come in on their off time to perform very basic, and I mean very basic maintenance such as bulbs and oil changes. Coincidentally there are several rigs around town with lights out for long periods of time. Not even the basics maintenance needs are attended to. The frontline apparatus is often out of service for long periods of time.
#43 by Sebastian on February 6, 2020 - 7:43 PM

Guys, love the armchair qb’ing!!

Station one.. quint 1, ambo 1
Station 2 .. quint 2, ambo 2 squad 2 (tech resque and water rescue squad) jump company
Station 3.. engine 3
Station 4 engine 4 ambo 4
Station 5.. engine 5 ambo 5
Station 6.. engine 6 ambo 6 (jump/part time ambo)
Station 7.. engine 7 currently which will be quint 7 again and the engine will go to reserve. Ambo 7
Station 7 also houses all the reserve equipment as well as a spear engine for south elgin. They also have mutual aids in place with West Dundee and south elgin for their truck company being first due or second due when an elgin truck is oos!!! And Mike C!! No quint 2 is not out more than its in Service! I get that you’re a fire service mechanic and dislike pierce! But come on please.. enough with the pierce bashing! I live in Elgin and it is not a crap town!!
#44 by Ron Wolkoff on February 6, 2020 - 7:13 PM

Mike. Your bias is well noticed. If Pierce did not have such a quality apparatus then why are they the largest manufacturer. E1 from the the early 80s were known as crap. Pierce makes a great product as can be seen by multiple repeat buyers
#45 by Tom on February 6, 2020 - 7:10 PM

Interesting reading. I believe Naperville is bigger and they only have 3 trucks/quints and 1 engine/squad. Naperville will soon be moving to 2 trucks/quints and two engine/squad. In this proposal it states this will provide better coverage to meet NFPA response times for aerial coverage. What happens when the quint goes out of service? Will Elgin be providing substandard service because they won’t have a back up aerial?
#46 by Austin on February 6, 2020 - 6:45 PM

So they are getting rid of three pieces of apparatus for one quint? Also how can they only have 4 engines and 3 quints for front line, and only two reserves? This doesn’t make sense to me. They have 7 stations, most with multiple bays (especially station 7 by Del Web), but will have only one front line per station? If I am missing something please let me know, but for a city of about 115,000 and a city that does nothing but grow farther west, this can’t be a good idea.
#47 by Mike C on February 6, 2020 - 5:17 PM

Interesting decision considering Elgin’s Truck 2 is out of service more than it’s in service. I am so sick and tired of these people who think Pierce is such a quality product. Pierce is easily one of the lowest quality builders. They produce a rig and it looks amazing as it comes off the assembly line but the quality is awful! I recently purchased $4,000 in TAK 4 components. Of course with it being proprietary parts I had no choice but to go to Pierce. The Command Zone is also garbage and requires proprietary parts from Pierce. There are so many parts on Pierce rigs that cost an arm and a leg because you have no choice but to purchase them from Pierce. Look at the price for this rig too. Outrageous and the trade in they’re getting is minimal. Nice job Elgin. Go drink your Kool-Aid. All in all, Elgin is a pathetic city.