Winnetka is due to place their new Smeal quint in service next week. Yesterday, the current Truck 28, which is a 1990, Pierce Arrow, 75′ quint, responded to a box alarm in Glencoe. Though the aerial wasn’t put to work, this may very well have been the last working fire response for this unit. A small gallery of scene images can be seen HERE.

Winnetka Fire Department 1990 Pierce truck 28

Truck 28 on-scene in Glencoe on 11-5-10 at a box alarm for a basement fire in a new home. This may be the last real fire for this 1990 workhorse which is scheduled for replacement in roughly a week. Larry Shapiro photo

Winnetka Fire Department 1990 Pierce Arrow quint

Truck 28 was delivered with the Winnetka Fire Department decal design which was designed from their patch featuring the rising sun on the lake. Larry Shapiro photo

Winnetka Fire Department truck 28 winter fire

Winnetka Truck 28 is the first-due truck into neighboring Glencoe. Over the years, Glencoe has had a number of fires where Truck 28 went to work. It is seen here at an extra alarm in December of 2000. The door decal shows the current emblem which replaced the sun rising over the lake. Larry Shapiro collection

Winnetka Fire Department truck 28 fire in Kenilworth

Winnetka provides fire and EMS services to Kenilworth in addition to Winnetka. Several years ago they added the Kenilworth name to each piece of apparatus. In this image, Truck 28 is setup in the driveway of a large house in Kenilworth at a fire around the time of halloween. If you look closely, you will see a skeleton hanging by the front door. Larry Shapiro collection

Winnetka Fire Department nighttime house fire

Three homes burned on the night of September 25th in 1996 on Edgewood Lane, which is on the border between Glencoe and Winnetka. One house was under construction at the time and was totally destroyed. Winnetka Truck 28 went to work here as part of this defensive attack with an elevated master stream. At the time of this fire, the old decal was still in use. Larry Shapiro collection

Winnetka Fire Department American LaFrance ALF Alfco 900 series mid-mount

In 1990 when Truck 28 went into service, it replaced this 900 Series 100' mid-ship American LaFrance Ladder Chief. Prior to the creation of RED Center (Regional Emergency Dispatch) which was originally out of Niles' headquarters station, Winnetka's apparatus carried numbers in the 70s. This was Truck 70. Then with RED Center, all of the fire departments in MABAS Division 3 were renumbered consecutively in an attempt to create a more standardized cohesive system. Larry Shapiro collection

The sequence of photos depict three different types of graphics packages on the Winnetka trucks over the years. Originally, as seen on the 900 Series, American LaFrance Ladder Chief, the only name on the trucks was Winnetka and the unit number was in a decorative emblem of gold leaf. Later they took the patch design with the rising sun over the lake, which was followed by a new patch and decal incorporating a traditional shield shape. Within the seal they incorporated a design that was created for their centennial which features a maltese cross with a steamer. The new 2010 Spartan/Smeal unit will feature different graphics again. The work has not yet been completed, but is rumored to have a return to a more traditional way of featuring the rig number along with the decal.

When the new aerial goes into service, the 1990 Pierce will be moving on to another life with a fire department in southern Illinois.

In other Winnetka news…

…Engine 28, a 2000, Pierce, Saber, top-mount, is currently under going repairs and refurbishing. When it returns, it will have a black roof to match the new truck.