This from Larry Shapiro:
Des Plaines had a house fire this evening at 310 Marshall Dr. Prospect Heights and Mount Prospect provided mutual aid.
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
Larry Shapiro photo
#1 by harry on August 6, 2025 - 4:02 PM
yes think about it tourists that spend thousands a year many times a year but hey i can go to a better state than fl anyway
#2 by Danny on August 6, 2025 - 3:08 PM
Harry just cause you and the fans dont like the new paint scheme does not equate to the dept being ruined it just means that its ruined for you and your ilk.
Do you think you and the fans should have been consulted before that change was made?
#3 by harry on August 6, 2025 - 12:39 PM
who wants to see an ugly black over green vehicle i sure dont and there were many people like me that were going to that dept and all of a sudden stopped so it must not be me only that thinks the dept is ruined not only that they are not putting the real q on the tahoe anymore
#4 by Al Whitlock on August 6, 2025 - 12:21 PM
I think that its time to pull the plug on this one.
#5 by danny on August 6, 2025 - 11:09 AM
got it harry so they ruined it fro you not they ruined the dept in any meaningful way…. makes sense now
#6 by Mike on August 6, 2025 - 7:42 AM
Great explanation Bill. The study was a good read. I would imagine when station 4 gets built 1 of the 4 firehouses will run a tower as the fire apparatus from there. It will get used as a quint and hence bring back the 2nd truck company.
#7 by Bill Post on August 6, 2025 - 4:45 AM
Getting back to the Des Plaines fire department. Some of you may already know this but in 2006 the town of Des Plaines had commissioned a very comprehensive study of the Fire Department and it done by ESC , Emergency Service Consulting a National fire and emergency service consulting group which was based in Oregon at the time however they are now based in Virginia and was made up at time of several active and retired fire and emergency service professionals and Chiefs.
The Study was officially called a “Deployment analysis” and looked into how well the town of Des Plaines was covered by the 3 existing fire stations by recommending adding or relocating some stations to better cover the town to put it more in compliance with a 6 minute first response time which was close to the National Fire Protection Association recommendation of approximately 1 minute dispatch time , 1 minute turnout time and 4 minute drive time from the nearest fire station to the scene. The bottom line is that the objective was to have most of the Des Plaines covered by a not more than 4 minute drive time to most of the town.
The report had found that the town couldn’t be adequately covered by 3 fire stations.
They looked at 5 deployment strategies in terms of fire station coverage. Both construction and operating costs were included in each of the 5 proposals.
The first 2 proposals consisted of 5 fire stations within Des Plaines proper which meant that there would be 2 totally new stations and that Station 2 or (62) would be relocated further east without relying on Automatic Mutual Aide. The second scenario would also consist of 5 fire stations with in Des Plaines proper however it would include having Automatic Aide from Mt Prospect which at the time included Elk Grove Township which is now Mt Prospect Station 11, North Maine Township and Rosemont Station 2 would also be part of the Automatic Aide.
The 3rd scenario would consist of only 3 Stations with in Des Plaines Proper however Station 2 would be relocated further west and Rosemont Station 2 would be part of a “Cooperative Service” agreement where Desplaines would have a fire or ems company located in the Rosemont station as Rosemont Station 2 is within a block or two of Des Plaines. Des Plaines Station 2 would still be in service but as previously mentioned it would be relocated further west from where it is now. There would also be Automatic Aide on the first alarm from the previously mentioned fire departments as in Scenario 2.
The 4th Scenario would consist of 4 Stations within Des Plaines Proper. There would be a new 4th Station which would be located on Central street near Wolf Road. Station 2 would also be relocated to the West.
That is what the Consultant ultimately recommended for the Des Plaines fire department in 2006. That study also recommended that 4 th Ambulance be put in service. That was 19 years ago and no new fire stations were built.
That study which was paid for by Des Plaines also didn’t recommend that Truck 63 be put our of service but as you know it was. The 4th Ambulance did go in service however I understand that it went our of service during the recession. Currently it is a jump company and is manned by the 2 man light duty Rescue Unit at Station 63.
Here is the Good News after almost 20 years. The New Fire Chief of Des Plaines Matt Matzl is actually pushing for the proposed 4th fire station to be built on Central near Wolf Road and he is also pushing to get Station 2 replaced by a New Larger Station on the current site of Station 2 and in June the 8 member City Council to vote for it around June 16th and they voted for it unanimously in favor of it. It just means that they are going to pursue the proposal further but they were all in favor of the idea.
It was presented as two options. The first option would only replace Station 2 at its current location on Oakton street and the second option would replace Station 2 and also build a new Station on the Northside of town which would be Station 4. It was cited that if the plan is funded and goes through there will be 2 Fire Station East of the very busy “Outer belt” Freight Railroad line and and there will be 2 stations West of the Outer belt railroad line.
The bad news is that there are not any plans to restore Des Plaines 2nd Truck company. Their plans are to first hire 3 more people so that they can run their 4th Ambulance full time and then in another year or two hire another few fire fighters to put a 2nd Light duty Rescue company in service at at Station 1 (61). That way there will be a light duty Rescue company east of the Outer belt railroad tracks.
It looks like their 2nd Truck company will have to come from a neighboring fire department on Automatic or Mutual Aide.
#8 by Mike on August 5, 2025 - 7:14 PM
????????????????????
#9 by harry on August 5, 2025 - 6:05 PM
danny
well the color they use its copyrighted only a few other depts run it miami dade being one but if you look at the rigs they had prior to the seagraves when they ere solid bright green now they are black over bright green which i personally feel is less visable and unique because in my thousands and thousands of photos i have taken palm beach gardens was my favorite color till 2022
now because of that dept there are no vehicles i want to see very bad in florida some but not many i know most on here dont appreciate a unique fire truck but i do
it is still a very well run and wealthy dept that has vehicles under 10 years old they have 6 stations with 6 2024 hc rescues
#10 by danny on August 5, 2025 - 5:08 PM
i know ill regret asking this but harry please tell us how they ruined that dept in Florida?
#11 by harry on August 5, 2025 - 2:25 PM
brian
first off i never said des plaines had 2 frontline trucks and while yes des plaines may have more crossing fp is known for stopped freight trains for hours and fp gets 3 or more freight trains an hour
chuck i would not live in florida ever way t hot for one and as for palm beach gardens i can care less about that city now that they ruined that fd
#12 by Chuck on August 5, 2025 - 9:19 AM
And here all this time I thought Harry lived in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Guess the life of a traveling fire service expert is a tough one.
#13 by Brian on August 5, 2025 - 7:50 AM
Not sure where you’re getting your information, Harry, but the information you have is outdated. Des Plaines does not have two front-line trucks or two reserve trucks and hasn’t for several years now. As far as who is busier with trains is a little deeper than just saying one vs the other (didn’t know there was a competition). Des Plaines has more rail crossings than Franklin Park, according to the railroad companies. Franklin Park has significant freight traffic, but in Des Plaines, there are 33 at-grade railroad crossings with An average of 59 freight trains and 74 commuter trains pass through daily. Both have issues, but Des Plaines has more due to the commuter line in downtown Des Plaines.
#14 by E. C. Darroll on August 5, 2025 - 12:33 AM
Harry, for living in Naperville you have no idea how big it is. You’re off by 1/3…Naperville is just over 39 square miles.
#15 by harry on August 4, 2025 - 7:38 PM
mike first off i live in naperville they have 2 frontline trucks and 2 reserves and last i was in kenosha they have always had 2 frontline and 1 in reserve and if we are talking rr tracks franklin park is way busier than des plaines as far as trains go
#16 by Mike on August 4, 2025 - 7:23 PM
Harry Kenosha has 3 truck companies in service. I also believe Naperville has 3 in service. But thank you for your uneducated opinion on how DFD operates. The city of des plaines is very tall and with the busy rail lines was the reason they have been running with 2 truck companies since the 1970’s. Call volume and square miles doesn’t equate to anything . Look at your target hazards and let that determine what type of apparatus you should be running.
#17 by harry on August 4, 2025 - 6:15 PM
1 tower for that size town is more than enought look at naperville 2 ladders for like 60 square miles des plaines is like 15 square miles right so why do they need 2 or 3 ladders just curious
heck even kenosha has 2 frontline ladders and they are bigger than des plaines
#18 by Chuck on August 4, 2025 - 10:38 AM
Yeah, getting rid of that north side truck company was sure a great idea.
#19 by Bill Post on August 3, 2025 - 2:30 AM
Those were great shots of the apparatus ,Larry. I find that Desplaines apparatus rarely show up here but the shots that you have of Squad 63 and Rescue 63 were sharp. Also that shot of Squad 63’s hose bed was a good idea as that way you were showing that Squad 63 is really an Engine/Squad.
It is also a little unusual in the Chicago area to have both a Squad and a Rescue out of the same station. I am aware that Rescue 63 is primarily a first responder for EMS calls.
#20 by Anonymous on August 2, 2025 - 9:57 PM
Out of curiosity, how has the Prospect Heights Pierce ladder truck been holding up?