Bedford Park Fire Chief Sean Maloy « chicagoareafire.com

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Original Snorkel to be restored by Smeal

Aug 15

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History, Fire Service News | 4 Comments

The vintage Bedford Park Fire Department Snorkel … that was possibly headed to the scrap yard has been rescued from oblivion.

Fire Chief Sean Maloy said the truck, which was the first original Snorkel manufactured in 1959, will be donated to Smeal Fire Apparatus of Snyder, Neb. “They said the Snorkel will be restored 100 percent to its condition when delivered to the Bedford Park Fire Department on March 31, 1960,” Maloy said.

The company will keep the Snorkel on display in its museum as well as take it to fire apparatus shows. Smeal bought the rights to the Snorkel name from LTI in June, Maloy said. “They plan to start building Snorkels again and want to show off the original truck at fire conferences,” Maloy said. “It will definitely be a marketing tool.”

“The truck will retain the Bedford Park name and markings,” Maloy said. “We will send them photos of the original truck so they make sure to get everything right.” Maloy said the company would pay the village $1 for the truck, which needs an estimated $60,000 in body and engine work.

“The village board was very happy to see the truck get a good home,” Maloy said. “The truck is an important part of firefighting history and I’m very happy to see it will be going to a good home.”

While the first Snorkel was converted from [a tree trimmer], ~~GMC~~ Pierce produced the first original Snorkel fire truck in 1959 for the Chicago Fire Department. “For some reason, they did not purchase it and it wound up in Bedford Park,” said Maloy. “I’m told Bedford Park got a good deal on it.” For the next 20 years, Bedford Park firefighters used the ~~GMC~~ Snorkel to battle fires and drive in parades.

Maloy praised this newspaper for helping to make this all possible.

thanks Drew

earlier posts are HERE and HERE

Tags: Bedford Fire Department, Bedford Park Fire Chief Sean Maloy, Bedford Park Fire Department history, Bedford Park Snorkel, original Snorkel, Smeal to restore original Snorkel fire truck, vintage Snorkel saved from scrap heap

Bedford Park selling antique Snorkel

Aug 2

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History, Fire Department News | 14 Comments

This from Larry Shapiro:

It appears that the Bedford Park Fire Department was not successful in finding a buyer for the 1959 GMC/Pierce/Snorkel. Recent information was that it would go to a scrap dealer.

I visited last week and took some photos to remember the Snorkel.

final days of historic Snorkel fire truck

Bedford Park’s original Snorkel as it currently rests behind station 1. Larry Shapiro photo

Larry Shapiro photo

1st Snorkel fire truck built for the fire service

Bedford Park FD Truck 712, 1959 GMC/Pierce 55′ Snorkel. Larry Shapiro photo

And the DesPlaines Valley News has an article …

There’s a story that former Chicago Fire Commissioner Robert Quinn invented the Snorkel fire truck in 1958 by running a hose up a cherry picker truck and pumping water down onto a fire.

While the first snorkel [was a] converted vehicle, ~~GMC~~ [Pierce] produced the first original Snorkel fire truck in 1959 for the Chicago Fire Department.

“For some reason, they did not purchase it and it wound up in Bedford Park,” said Bedford Park Fire Chief Sean Maloy. “I’m told Bedford Park got a good deal on it.”
For the next 20 years, Bedford Park firefighters used the GMC Snorkel to battle fires and drive in parades.

“In 1980, we gave it to public works for use as a work truck,” Maloy said. “About 15 years ago, they stopped using it.” The truck sat for years in a Public Works parking lot.

Eventually, firefighters decided they wanted to restore the vintage piece of firefighting equipment.

“We had it towed to the fire yard. We wanted to restore it,” Maloy said. “We set aside $30,000. We wanted to make it pretty for parades.”

Then the other shoe dropped.

“We had it evaluated,” Maloy said. “We found out it needed a lot of body work and a new engine just to make it able to run.” He said the needed repairs would have doubled the cost of restoring the snorkel. “We decided it wouldn’t be a prudent use of another $30,000 that would have to come from the village,” he said.

Reluctantly, the village sought bids for the truck. There were no takers. “We were asking for $5,000,” he said. “I wish I could have had a collector come in and grab it. Unless someone comes in to take it, a piece of history will be going to the scrap yard. I’ll hate to see it go.”

Maloy said he’s in no hurry to junk the vintage apparatus and is willing to hold onto the truck for a little while longer.

“I’ll leave it here until about October,” he said. “After that it’s going to the junk heap. I’d probably take a dollar if someone offered to take it off my hands,” he said with a joke.

Anyone interested in acquiring the snorkel should contact Maloy at the Bedford Park Fire Department. His number is 708-563-4510