Archive for July 25th, 2020

New aerials for Chicago (more)

From Facebook

E-ONE ladder truck in Chicago

from Facebook

thanks Danny

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Chicago Fire Department history

This from Steve Redick:

These are Don Neal photos from June of 1979, exactly 1 year before I went into the fire alarm office. These are some great shots of the equipment I worked with in my early years.
 
The first is the Gamewell striking machine. It was usually broken but we would dial up the box number and it would transmit four rounds, two on the joker circuit and two on the alarm circuit. We could not use it for extra alarms or special boxes. It was a real timesaver and produced a good consistent readout on the registers in the firehouses. 
Chicago FD history

Don Neal photo

 
The senior’s desk. I spent many an hour here later in my career. The man in charge sat here and would organize all the resources using the map. Each cap was removable and was connected to a light with the company number on the big overhead map. Black were engines, red were trucks. The caps would be removed and placed in the holes with each row representing an alarm level. You could take one cap and place it on another and raise the switch to show occupancy at that firehouse and the cap would be raised above the others to call attention to the fact a foreign company was in the house. A simple system that was better than any electronic stuff since. In the picture you see a row of caps and a boxcard indicating companies at a working fire.We only used this for long term incidents like extra alarms or companies tied up at the shops or academy.
Chicago FD senior alarm operator desk in the old Main Fire Alarm Office

Don Neal photo

 
The red phones were direct ring-down lines to the city hall lobby, county building, and McCormick place. Box cards were in the drawers on either side.
Chicago FD senior alarm operator desk in the old Main Fire Alarm Office

Don Neal photo

Even though Englewood kept their own status with their map, we tracked it citywide. I much a time on a high stepladder changing the burned out bulbs on the map, long before the days of LEDs.
Chicago FD senior alarm operator desk in the old Main Fire Alarm Office

Don Neal photo

 

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New engine for Huntley FPD (more)

New Spartan/Toyne engine for Huntley

From the Toyne website:

 

Spartan Metro Star pumper

Toyne Fire Apparatus photo

back of new Toyne fire engine

Toyne Fire Apparatus photo

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