This from Steve Redick:
This is from the Department General Order Dated May 31, 1965. It shows the organization of Snorkel Squad 3 and the controversial disbandment of Squad 7, Squad 1, and the relocation of Engine 66. Some great stuff here. Thanks to Jack Connors for sharing this.
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#1 by Phil Stenholm on July 24, 2020 - 5:24 PM
The reason why Flying Squad 6 did not respond to still alarms in Battalion 20 east of Ashland and south of Bryn Mawr is because Salvage Squad 3 was at Engine 83 and Salvage Squad 3 and Flying Squad 6 (normally) did not respond to the same still alarms, but Flying Squad 6 responded to all still alarms in Battalion 27 (which was north of Bryn Mawr). It was only after Salvage Squad 3 was relocated to Engine 22 in the 3rd Battalion (and responded to stills in the 3rd and 13th battalions) that Flying Squad 6 began to respond to still alarms throughout the 20th and 27th battalions.
Just as Flying Squad 6 and Salvage Squad 3 (when it was at Engine 83) split east/west at Ashland Avenue, Flying Squad 1 and Salvage Squad 5 split north/south at 79th Street, Flying Squad 2 and Salvage Squad 7 split north/south at 87th Street, Flying Squad 3 and Salvage Squad 7 split east/west at Western Avenue, Flying Squad 3 and Flying Squad 4 split north/south at 55th Street, Flying Squad 4 and Salvage Squad 4 split north/south at Pershing Road, Flying Squad 3 and Salvage Squad 4 split north/south at 55th Street (with Salvage Squad 4 not due west of Western Avenue), Flying Squad 4 and Salvage Squad 2 (split north/south at Roosevelt Road and east/west at Ashland Avenue), Flying Squad 5 and Salvage Squad 2 split north/south at Division Street, and Flying Squad 5 and Salvage Squad 6 split east/west at Kedzie Avenue. (Salvage Squad 6 became Flying Squad 7 at Engine 108 in 1972, which was the beginning of the salvage squads being phased out in favor of expanded duties of the flying squads).
Generally speaking, during the five years they were in service (1967-72), the salvage squads were less about providing additional manpower and more about providing property salvage at working fires (like the old Fire Insurance Patrol did prior to being disbanded in 1959). Two of the salvage squads (3 & 7) ran with Dodge DuraVans (similar to the vans Dive Team 6-8-7 and the Chicago Fire Department Band used) and three others (4, 5, and 6) ran with old Civil Defense rescue trucks (only one of which was repainted in CFD livery).
During the time when there were both flying squads and salvage squads in service (1969-72), the salvage squads had smaller districts than the flying squads and were assigned to more congested areas where the engine and truck company manpower levels were OK and where there were lots of working fires (the 8th, 11th, 12th, and 16th battalions on the south side, the 15th, 18th, 23rd, and 28th battalions on the west-side, the 4th Battalion on the northwest side, and the east half of the 20th Battalion and the 13th Battalion (later the 3rd and 13th battalions) on the north side).
So the salvage squads were sort of a nostalgia trip, a yearning for the old Fire Insurance Patrol. But at some point Commissioner Quinn must have become convinced that salvage squads were a luxury the CFD could not afford. Likewise with squads that just provided extra manpower and nothing else.
So the disbanding of the salvage companies in 1972 coincided with converting the “Flying Manpower Squad” that basically just provided additional manpower in the more outlying battalions to the more rescue-oriented “Flying Squad” (with technical rescue capability that was useful anywhere in the city, not just in outlying areas).
Meanwhile, the elite Snorkel Squad 1 (which was also in service during the period of time when both salvage squads and flying squads were in service and for several years beyond) was somewhat elevated in stature when the other two snorkel squads were taken out of service in 1968-69 and SS-1 became the last remaining snorkel squad.
In the 1970’s, SS-1 was ubiquitous and virtually omnipresent. It responded to still alarms downtown (1st and 2nd battalions) and the near-north side (south part of Battalion 3), as well as 2-11 alarms and complex rescue calls (train wreck, plane crash, building collapse, et al) city-wide. It was sort of like the CFD’s version of Seal Team 6.
The three current squad companies (four if you include Squad 7 at O’Hare) are essentially the children of SS-1, but because there are three (or four) of them, it’s not quite the same as when there was just the one and only SS-1.
#2 by Bill Post on July 24, 2020 - 10:11 AM
Phil, thanks for your information on the Autocar squads and which Flying Squads initially had them. I was aware that Flying Squad 4 went in service with Salvage Squad 1’s Autocar and that Flying Squad 5 had one however I wasn’t aware Flying Squad 2 also had one. They didn’t last very long.
I do remember when Flying Squad 4 was the bomb squad. In fact, it was 2nd Deputy Fire Marshall Neville who was in charge of putting it in service. That was an example of the fire department stepping in to do what is essentially a police function. The New York City Police ran a bomb disposal unit for years with their own apparatus.
At the beginning of the CFD bomb squad, Flying Squad 4 would even be sent to O’Hare and Midway airports for suspicious packages. They would be flying around the city in an old pumper as that 1954 Autocar didn’t last very long. Would you believe it took the CFD three years before they gave Flying Squad 4 a vehicle for transporting and disposing of explosive ordnance? Even then they still responded with their pumper to bomb threats. I understand that the bomb disposal vehicle and trailer had been donated by the Civil Defense.
In July 1973, the fire department moved Flying Squad 4 to Engine 23’s new house at 1915 S Damen despite the fact that there was still plenty of room with Engine 28. Engine 28’s house was one of the largest houses in city even after Engine 42’s was built.
In 1974 they gave Flying Squad 4 a new bomb disposal unit and trailer. In October of 1975 they took the Bomb Disposal Unit temporarily out of service. They might have taken the bomb disposal duties away from Flying Squad 4 because the following year the CFD put the bomb disposal unit in service at Engine 42 with a radio signature of 541. Finally in January of 1979, the CFD bomb disposal unit was permanently taken out of service and the truck and trailer were given to the police where they should have been from the beginning. It is hard to believe that the Chicago Fire Department handled bomb squad duties from 1969 to 1979.
#3 by Phil Stenholm on July 23, 2020 - 3:43 PM
The Flying Squads had the same “5-1-x” signatures that had been used by the squads 1913-1969 (the snorkel squads signatures were “5-5-x”), and the Flying Squad company officers often referred to themselves that way over the radio. (EXAMPLE: “5-1-5 to Main”, or “5-1-5 in service on the air,” etc).
While the main mission of the flying squads (initially) was to provide additional manpower in still districts where engine companies were running with only four men, some of the Flying Squads had additional duties or functions.
In addition to responding to fires, Flying Squad 4 was the CFD’s Bomb Disposal Unit. Flying Squad 4 and 2-1-11 responded to all “bomb calls.” Flying Squad 1 continued to run with their old Autocar salvage squad at Engine 28 at 2529 S. Throop.
Flying Squad 2 (assigned to Engine 93’s house at 330 W. 105th Street) ) and Flying Squad 5 (which replaced Engine Co. 114 at 3542 W. Fullerton) also initially operated with old Autocar squads.
Flying Squad 3 was initially assigned to Engine 116’s house (with Engine Co. 116 and using an old Autocar squad) in 1969 but was moved to the new Truck 31 firehouse at Ford City when it opened in 1970. Flying Squad 3 was a de facto engine company for a while at T31 (operating with a brand new Ford/Ward LaFrance 1000/750 pumper), responding to still alarms as a Flying Manpower Squad throughout Battalion 26 and Battalion 31, but it was also was the first due engine company to Ford City. (An ex-Snorkel Squad fog pressure rig — signature 3-4-1-A — replaced Flying Squad 3 at T31 when FMS3’s rig was transferred to E68, and then T31 ran as a two-piece company – H&L plus fog pressure — up until Engine Co. 64 was transferred to T31 from Englewood in 1973).
Flying Squad 1 was placed into service at Engine Co. 87’s house at 8701 S. Escanaba (replacing Engine Co. 87) and exchanged Engine 87’s 1956 Mack rig with Engine Co. 82’s older FWD pumper, and Flying Squad 6 was placed into service at Engine Co. 128’s house at 2100 W. Eastwood (directly replacing Engine Co. 128) and exchanged Engine 128’s 1954 Mack with Engine 121’s older Pirsch pumper. So Flying Squads 1 and 6 could function as an engine company if first on the scene, but had large still districts as manpower companies that precluded them from being a true engine company.
Once the Mack/Platt heavy rescue squads were placed into service in 1973, the Flying Squads became more like a modern-day heavy rescue squad rather than just a manpower squad operating with an old pumper or Autocar squad, although they did still provide additional manpower at still alarms in still districts with reduced manpower, in addition to responding to technical rescue calls in their larger “squad district.”
#4 by Bill Post on July 23, 2020 - 3:03 AM
Fred M. in mid 1967 the City of Chicago reduced the working hours of Chicago firefighters. There was a catch though that the city also refused to hire more men to fill the positions and make up for the reduction in working hours. Before mid 1967 and 1968 all of Chicago’s engines and trucks normally had five men assigned. That was in addition to two salvage squad companies and nine squad companies that were still in service at the beginning of 1967. There were also the three, seven man Snorkel squads, six regular Snorkel companies, and 12 fog pressure companies that each ran with three.
During 1967, several of the squads were taken out of service and a few had temporarily become one man companies which would respond with the driver on Still and Box alarms and extra alarm fires. Initially the companies went out of service due to overtime owed during the snowstorm of 1967, but due to the reduction in working hours, most of the squads remained out of service. By late 1967 and early 1968 it was unknown if a fire company would be running with five or four on a particular day.
Due to the severe disorganization of the Chicago Fire Department the city hired a consultant to find out ways to more efficiently run the fire department without adding to the payroll. Gerald Maatman, who had conducted a previous study of the CFD in 1963, had recommended that 75% of Chicago’s engines and trucks run with only four and the remaining 25%, the busiest ones and the downtown companies, run with five. As a general rule the engine companies that averaged 1,600 runs a year or more would be assigned as a company of five. The report recommended creating six-man Flying Manpower Squads that would only respond with the four man companies in their Still districts. It also recommended that all three of the Snorkel squads and one Snorkel company be taken out of service, and that Salvage Squad 1 located downtown remain in service. Along with the Flying squads, Salvage Squad 1 would also become the heavy rescue companies.
Commissioner Robert J Quinn who adopted the Snorkel for firefighting and rescue purposes took Snorkel Squads 2 and 3 out of service but he didn’t take Snorkel Squad 1 out of service. Instead he took Salvage Squad 1 out of service. He took a few Snorkel companies out of service and the fog pressures as well as some engines and trucks. From 1969 until 1973 the Flying Manpower Squads were using old pumpers from the late 1940s and the 1950s as their regular apparatus. Snorkel Squad 1 was really the only heavy rescue squad in the city. In 1973 the flying squads received Mack MB/Platt squad apparatus and began carrying Hurst tools and other power tools like Snorkel Squad 1. In 1971 a seventh flying manpower squad was put in service on the far northwest side on the recommendation of the consultant. After 1973 the flying squads were dispatched to pin-in accidents if they were closer then Snorkel Squad 1. The flying squads would usually have to be special called to fires and rescues if the incident wasn’t within their still district. Snorkel Squad 1 was due on all 2-11 alarms citywide.
I’ll give you an example. Flying Manpower Squad 6 which was with Engine 110 on Foster east of Western wouldn’t be dispatched east of Ashland unless the fire was on or north of Brynmawr. If the fire was south of Bryn Mawr the flying squad wouldn’t normally go east of Ashland. Their eastern still alarm boundary was along Ashland until Fullerton. The Chicago River which was their southern boundary. North of Bryn Mawr was Engine 70s district with a four man company. South of Bryn Mawr was Engine 83s district and they had five. All companies along the Lakefront south of Engine 83 like Engines 78 and 55 were also five-man companies. That’s why Flying Squad 6 wouldn’t be dispatched east of Ashland south of Bryn Mawr. If the still and box was stuck in Engine 83, 78, or 55’s district, Snorkel Squad 1 would automatically be dispatched but Flying Squad 6 had to be special called even though they were only about a mile from Engine 83s district.
One of the things that precipitated the 1980 firefighters strike is that many of the fire companies that were supposed to be running with five often had less which was also true sometimes for the four-man companies. There were also men who were serving out of rank.
#5 by Fred M on July 22, 2020 - 8:07 PM
Bill, where did the Flying Manpower Squads fit in to this mix? I remember seeing them on scenes, but they did not have the same response districts like the SS units. Were they strictly manpower or did they carry specialized gear like the SS Companies
#6 by Bill Post on July 22, 2020 - 2:26 PM
Michael m, I knew of the Snorkel squads to run with at least seven. Since the fog pressure rig had a pump, they were required to have an engineer assigned to each shift. The fog pressure was basically a compact booster pumper with a 300-gallon water tank. They were used as a quick attack unit in the initial stages of a fire until an engine company got hooked up to a hydrant. Snorkel Squads 1 and 2 had four men on the Snorkel. Two were in the cab and two on the rear running board. Three men would ride on the second piece.
The fog pressure units were also used for expressway incidents and prairie fires on railroad embankments, basically anywhere that there wasn’t a positive source of water. They had two reels of red booster hose, each was attached to a high pressure fog gun which had a trigger style handle. One would squeeze it to start the fog stream.
Until late 1966 when Chicago started getting new engines with 500-gallon booster tanks, there were only about a dozen engine companies with booster tanks out of about 120 in service. At one point the CFD had 12 fog pressure companies which didn’t include the three assigned to the Snorkel squads.
I really don’t know where the crew rode on Snorkel Squad 3. The bodies of Snorkel Squads 1 and 2 were custom built with rear running boards and handles for the crew. Snorkel Squad 3 had the original Snorkel 1 which didn’t have running boards so someone else might be able to answer that question better. I only saw Snorkel Squad 3 once when it was still running with the Snorkel.
Both Snorkel Squads 2 and 3 were taken of service in May of 1969 however Snorkel Squad 1 remained in service until October of 1980. In 1974 the fog pressure on Snorkel Squad 1 was replaced with a Ford/Pierce walk-around squad. It still had 300-gallon booster tank and a pump so they were required to have an engineer.
#7 by Michael m on July 22, 2020 - 11:47 AM
How many men were assigned to the Snorkel Squads per shift?
#8 by Bill Post on July 22, 2020 - 11:25 AM
That is a very interesting general order. Thanks for putting it on line Steve. One of the first things that I noticed was a major error as it mentioned that your father was being transferred from Snorkel Squad 5 which should have read Snorkel 5. Most of us who were around back then knew there was no such thing as Snorkel Squad 5 as back then the squads weren’t numbered for the district they are located in as they are today.
There is one thing I can’t help but wonder about. According to the order, Snorkel 1 was taken out of service the same day which made sense because Snorkel 1’s apparatus became Snorkel Squad 3. Snorkel 1’s 1958 GMC however had some modifications done which included removing the large metal awning that was built over the cab of the apparatus. I think that some extra cabinets were also added to the body to have space for the new equipment to be carried on the Snorkel squad. Much of the equipment must have been carried on SS3A which was the fog pressure used as the second piece of the Snorkel squad. Even though they added some cabinets to the Snorkel’s chassis, the rig wasn’t custom built as a Snorkel squad the way the Ehrlinder company built the bodies for SS1 and SS2.
You also mentioned the controversial disbanding of Squad 7. I recently learned that what had made it controversial was the fact that only one member of Squad 7 was allowed to transfer onto the new Snorkel Squad 3. The commissioner apparently didn’t like Squad 7 for some reason even though they had been the busiest squad company in the city when they were disbanded.
In case some of the younger generation may be wondering why Squad 7 was taken out of service, the main reason is that the Snorkel squads were more thoroughly equipped with state of the art equipment than the conventional squad companies. There really wasn’t room in any of the fire stations in the old 2nd Division to relocate Squad 7. Back then there were seven fire divisions. The 2nd Division covered the west side from Ashland on the east to the city limits on the west, and from Augusta on the north to the southwest branch of the Chicago River.
The irony is that Snorkel Squad 3 was only in service for four years, and for slightly over half of that time they ran without a Snorkel. It which was never replaced after being incapacitated during the big snow storm of 1967. When Snorkel Squad 3 was taken out of service in May 1969 (it had been renamed Rescue 3 by then) it was the busiest company in Chicago. In 1968 which was the last full year that Snorkel Squad 3 was in service they went on 5,952 runs.