This Saturday, April 26, 2025 is the monthly open house of the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago.
5218 S Western Ave 1000-1400 Hrs
5-11 Alarm fire 814 Kinzie in Chicago 5-15-54
thanks Steve
Posts Tagged Fire Museum of Greater Chicago
This Saturday, March 22 is the monthly open house for the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago 5218 S Western 1000-1400hrs
From the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago
From legacy.com:
WHITING, IN – Gregory J. Melyon, 58 of Whiting, passed away Wednesday, October 7, 2020. He is survived by his beloved wife of 29 years, Donna (nee Klapak); loving brother of Dan (Ellen) Melyon and Mark (Gerardette) Melyon; dearest uncle to many nieces and nephews; dear brother-in-law of Paul “Otis” Klapak and Frank (late Janet) Lowry; and his best friend Guinness Melyon.
Private funeral services will be held, there is no visitation. Expressions of sympathy may be placed on-line at www.baranfh.com.
Greg Melyon was born on March 20, 1962 to Henry and Alice (Simala) Melyon and was a lifelong resident of the Calumet Region. He was a graduate of Bishop Noll Institute, Class of 1980 and was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Whiting. Greg was a 2nd generation firefighter and began his career with the Gary, Indiana Fire Department. He was one of a dozen firefighters in the city chosen to form Squad 2, a flying manpower squad, running to literally hundreds of emergency calls a year. Squad 2 would become one of the busiest heavy rescue squads in the country and its members, some of the most skilled firefighters in the industry. When our country was attacked on September 11, 2001, he responded with a group of fellow firefighters to New York City to support the efforts of the FDNY. Greg came up through the ranks, holding many positions, and retired as Chief of Operations from the City of Gary with 27 years of dedicated service. After retiring from Gary, he became a training instructor at the BP Whiting Refinery, where he continued to share his incredible knowledge of safety and emergency response. Greg was a member of the IAFF Local 359, the 5-11 Club of Chicago, the Fire Buffs of Illinois and was a founding member of the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago. He enjoyed photographing fire apparatus and collecting fire apparatus pictures, memorabilia, and die-cast emergency vehicles. Greg was an avid traveler and connoisseur of local cuisine. He will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved him. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago, 5218 S. Western Ave., Chicago, IL 60609. (219) 659-4400
This from Steve Redick:
Had a great opportunity for a good tour of the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago yesterday. It is the former quarters of Eng 123. They have an operating exhibit that showcases the old fire alarm office dispatching system as it was for many years … telegraph signals and all. I recorded the entire demo and have included a link to the youtube video. It is well worth a look. Afterwards they fired up old Engine 10’s Ahrens Fox and took it for a spin. I shot some images of that as well. The driving force in developing the joker stand demo was Ken Falk and Wally Mitchell, as well as many other dedicated members of the museum crew. We owe them a great deal for preserving these memories for generations to come. This place is a must see for anyone in the Chicago area.Steve
Steve Redick photo
Steve Redick photo
Steve Redick photo
Steve Redick photo
The following is a video from the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago
This video is of the Chicago Fire Dept’s. former “Joker Stand” that was used in Chicago firehouses for over 90 years until it was replaced by the O.E.M.C. and computer aided dispatching in the mid 1990’s.
thanks Dan
This from Bill Kugelman:
The Fire Museum of Greater Chicago … will host an Open House next Saturday from 1000 till 1400 hrs.
Bring a camera and a friend. Kids welcome. No entry charge.
It’s at 5218 S. Western Ave. Chicago
Fire Museum of Greater Chicago
Check out the recent video if you missed it
The Chicago Tribune has a short video created recently at the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago.
Today,
at the Quinn Fire Academy, The Fire Museum of Greater Chicago is sponsoring a double program:
- The History of the fire academy
- The 1961 fire which resulted in the deaths of Tom Hoff and Bob O’Brien
The program begins at 10AM and will last approximately 1 1/2 hours.
