This from Steve Redick:
Chicago Magazine, October 1975. A very inflammatory article on Commissioner Quinn and the CFD.
click to download
click to download
click to download
click to download
click to download
click to download
click to download
Chicago Fire Department history
#1 by Crabbymilton on May 4, 2020 - 3:21 PM
Both Daleys had policies that didn’t sit well for me but I would rather have them than Lightfoot any day. But I digress. I would prefer a chief/commissioner who understood what needs to get done regardless of his political leanings. Perhaps he would have come around on his hearse base ambulances if he could see how well these ambulances are equipped now. But we’ll never know.
#2 by Chris on May 4, 2020 - 2:28 PM
” And don’t they hop when the alarm comes in? “You betcha! But only because I make sure of it” ”
I could make an argument against that statement – especially with some “select” companies in the 6th Division in those days
#3 by Brian Murphy on May 4, 2020 - 12:05 PM
Crabby- ‘Political Correctness’ drove all levels of City and County (Cook) government during Quinn’s tenure, and it took the form of absolute loyalty to Richard J. Daley. He alone ran both the City (officially) and Cook County (unofficially). With zero exaggeration, NOTHING was done without Daley’s command or approval, or at least via the structure of his political fiefdom. The most important things in keeping your City job were loyalty, work for the Party and getting out the vote. As illustrated in this article, nearly any transgression or failure was forgivable if you were a ‘good solider’ (imagine the fallout from a CFD expressway jog today). Loyalty was rewarded no matter how good or incompetent the person. It also greatly benefited the offspring and relatives of the loyal. Could things- in Chicago- have been better or different? Maybe, but probably not (at that time) due to the social and corresponding political history of the City. The ‘ingredients’ formed the resulting ‘cake’, so to speak. It was what it was. Chicago has a fascinating history on all fronts, much more than meets the eye. The late great Mike Royko’s book BOSS is probably the best read on how it all came to be (and in it Quinn plays an interesting and somewhat amusing part).
#4 by CrabbyMilton on May 4, 2020 - 6:04 AM
When it comes to saving lives vs. material things, which is more important? Too much political correctness these days so guy like Quinn wouldn’t last long today. Sad.
#5 by Mike Mc on May 3, 2020 - 10:47 PM
Well said Bill. Refering to turn out gear as a rubber coat and hat provides a lot of insight as to just how well researched this article was. By 1975, Quinn’s faults were well known and everyone knew that times had passed him buy. It’s a shame he did not retire earlier and leave a better legacy. However, he was a life long bachelor and the fire department was his life. He lived less than two years after finally being forced out.
Besides the manpower, another reason for the large number of fire deaths was that Chicago sent only one truck on a still. They were undoubtedly the only major city in the country to do so. A second factor was that air masks were still not available to all companies and many of the companies that did have them, held them in reserve for really bad fires or if they could not make headway attacking the fire. Local 2 president Bernie McKay’s failure to mention air masks shows how far behind the times Chicago was. Even the union president didn’t they were that important. They were simply expected to put the fire out without one and everyone thought that was normal.
Harold Prohaska was a great enthusiast of the department. He would try and get young men to take the test as if he were a Marine Corps recruiting sergeant. He was also extremely loyal to Commissioner Quinn. Like Quinn, he was
probably too stuck in tradition to be an effective head of training. Not a good fit. His son, Dennis Prohaska (now a retired captain), was on Snorkel Squad 1. SS-2 went out of service in 1969.
#6 by Bill Post on May 3, 2020 - 9:10 PM
That is one article that I have never seen before or even heard of. When it came to the manpower that was assigned per company the article was correct. In those days the other fire departments that were cited did as a rule have more manpower per company. In the case of New York City, they didn’t count the officer as part of the manpower and they still don’t. So in New York today while most engines are called 4-man companies they really run with 5 including the officer. In those days a 5-man company was actually 6 and a 6-man company was really 7. Since then most of the departments have had crew size reductions. Other then that I have never seen an article as critical of the Chicago Fire Department in my life. Most of the information about Commissioner Quinn was true and his opinion of paramedic vans versus Cadillac ambulances first appeared in the Chicago newspapers where he was quoted as the calling the paramedic vans as meat wagons.