Posts Tagged green fire engines

Where are they now … Bridgeview

This from Martin Nowak:

Elk Grove Township Engine 310, a 1981 Mack MC started its life as a Bridgeview Fire Department Engine 405 out of Station 2. Here’s a story a firefighter told me at my recent visit to the fire house. It was either 1993 to 1995 when a generator on top of Engine 405 started leaking as so this leak reached some batteries below. This caused sparks and so the whole fire truck engulfed in flames is sitting in the bay with firefighters sleeping. They wake up to someone pounding on the door. A police officer is standing at the door and says your fire truck is on fire. Here’s where the purchase of a new engine comes in. The department was looking for a truck and stumbled across what is currently 1993 Pierce Dash as Engine 425 (Picture taken by me recently). This truck was a Pierce demo with the specs the department liked or best fit them. Elk Grove Township purchased the burned up engine and had it repaired. Changes can be seen between the old photo (thanks to Bill Friedrich for allowing me me to use it) to the current picture on the site.

 

Bridgeview FD Mack MC engine

Bridgeview Engine 405. Bill Friedrich photo

 

Elk Grove Township FPD Mack engine

Elk Grove Township FPD 1981 Mack engine with a 1,250-GPM pump, 1,100 gallons of water and 300 gallons of foam. Larry Shapiro photo

 

Bridgeview FD Pierce engine

Martin Nowak photo

Also, Kevin G found this link to  X-Bridgeview Ambulance 406 that is being offered for sale

Bridgeview Fire Department Ambulance for sale

Penske photo

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Where are they now … Rockford

This from Bill Friedrich:

The City of Rockford had issues with apparatus breaking down due to age so they started purchasing used apparatus. One from Naperville, two from Elmhurst and one from St.Charles. There are no plans to repaint these vehicles to the Rockford FD color scheme.

Naperville Fire Department Engine 2 EONE Hush

Naperville Engine 2 (311), a 1991 EONE Hush 1500/1000. Bill Friedrich photo

Rockford Fire Department Engine 6 X-Naperville

Rockford Fire Department Engine 6 is X-Naperville Engine 2 (311). A 1991 EONE Hush 1500/1000. Bill Friedrich photo

Elmhurst Fire Department Engine 1 Darley

Elmhurst ran this 1990 Spartan Monarch/Darley 1500/500 as Engine 1. Bill Friedrich photo

Rockford Fire Department Engine 15

Rockford Engine 15 is a 1990 Spartan Monarch/Darley 1500/500 which is X-Elmhurst Engine 1. Bill Friedrich photo

St. Charles Fire Department Seagrave engine

The entire St. Charles fleet used to be white over lime green like this 1996 Seagrave fixed cab engine. Engine 106 carried 500 gallons of water and had a 1,500-GPM pump. Bill Friedrich photo

Rockford Fire Department Engine 18

Rockford Engine 18 is this 1996 Seagrave 1500/500 which is X-St. Charles Engine 106. Bill Friedrich photo

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Crete Fire Department is added to Division 27

In Will County, the Crete Fire Department has been added to the site. Crete has two stations with Pierce, Saulsbury, and Medtec apparatus.

Crete Fire Department Engine 702 Pierce Enforcer

Crete is changing the color of their units from white over lime green to black over red.

Crete Fire Department Squad 706

Crete Fire Department Station 2

Crete Fire Station 2 is a t 3740 Melanie Lane. It was built in 1983. Dennis McGuire, Jr. photo

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The Color of Fire Trucks (part 12) Division 11

More on the non-red fire apparatus that served in MABAS Division 11.

Cicero Fire Department 1976 Haz mat unit

Cicero Haz Mat 1 in 1976 was this lime green unit built by Koeing on a Ford F-600 chassis. Bill Friedrich photo

Haz Mat 1 was kept at Sta.2

Cicero Fire Department Squad F-11

Cicero Squad F-11 was this white truck built by Wolverine on a Ford F-600 chassis in 1976. It had a 25′ elevating ladder which was more commonly used by outdoor sign companies. Bill Friedrich photo

Here is a shot shortly after the Western Electric plant in Cicero closed down. This was Engine 6 on the radio.

Cicero Fire Department 1978 Ford Howe fire engine lime green

Cicero acquired this 1978 Ford F-700/Howe commercial engine from the Western Electric Plant Brigade when it closed. This had a 750-GPM pump with 600 gallons of water. Bill Friedrich photo

The engine was sold to a department in Alabama. It was at Cicero for about 1-2 years. They did not care for the lime green color. Western Electric employed around 20,000 people and was located near 22nd & Cicero. They did have a full time department.

Cicero Fire Department 1981 Ford Darley fire engine

Cicero Engine 3 was delivered by W.S. Darley in 1981 on a Ford C-8000 chassis with a custom canopy configuration. Originally it was all white but was later repainted to match the new color scheme. Bill Friedrich photo

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The color of fire trucks (part 10) Division 10

Departments in MABAS Division 10 are featured in this next installment of The Color of Fire Trucks series.

Clarendon Hills Fire Department Mack Pierce TeleSqurt

Clarendon Hills ran this 1986 50′ TeleSqurt built by Pierce on a Mack CF chassis. Engine 349 had a 1,500-GPM pump and carried 500 gallons of water. Larry Shapiro photo

The Clarendon Hills Fire Department runs with apparatus that is painted white over a bright yellow. They currently have a fleet of four units with these colors.

Darien-Woodridge Fire Protection District engine

One of several E-ONE units purchased by the Darien-Woodridge FPD was this 1990 top-mount Hurricane engine with 1,000 gallons of water and a 1,500-GPM pump. It ran as Engine 371. Larry Shapiro photo

The Darien-Woodridge Fire Protection District currently runs with red and white apparatus. Their newest unit is solid red, and with this purchase they will retire one of the last of their lime-green apparatus which dominated their fleet for many years.

Riverside Fire Department green fire engine

Riverside Engine 306 ran with this 1978 Ford C-8000/Seagrave. It had a 1,250-GPM pump and 750 gallons of water. Bill Friedrich photo

The Riverside FD had this Seagrave engine and they also purchased another lime green rig. The second unit was a Chevy/E-ONE (DOT) light rescue, like the one shown below from Forest View.
Forest View Fire Department EONE small rescue

Forest View ran with one of the popular small DOT spec rescue squads like many other area departments. Squad 816 was built by E-ONE in 1980 on a GMC chassis. Bill Friedrich photo

The Forest View FD purchased this (DOT) light rescue. It was the only non-red rig in the fleet.
Hinsdale Fire Department EONE engine painted black and yellow

One of many units that has been purchased over the years for service in Hinsdale was this 1982 E-ONE Protector IV engine. Running as Engine 343, it was built on a Hendrickson chassis with an 1871-W cab, and carried 500 gallons of water with a 1,250-GPM pump. Larry Shapiro photo

Until 2008, all of the apparatus in the Hinsdale Fire Department was delivered black over yellow, and with the exception of their 2008 Spartan/Rosenbauer/Metz tower ladder, everything still maintains these colors.
Westmont Fire Department Pemfab Wedge engine by FTI

The Westmont Fire Department purchased this white and lime engine from FTI in 1978. It featured a 1,250-GPM pump with 500 gallons of water. It was built on a Pemfab chassis with their ‘wedge’ (Model 932-T) cab. Bill Friedrich photo

Westmont’s Fire Department had only this one non-red rig in the fleet.
Willow Springs Fire Department black E-ONE tower ladder

Willow Springs purchased this unusual 95′ tower ladder from E-ONE in 2001. Painted black, tower 600 had a 1,500-GPM pump with 300 gallons of water on a Cyclone chassis. Bill Friedrich photo

Willow Springs had this unique E-ONE tower ladder that was black. Reportedly, a developer was to build a large project in Willow Springs and was required to purchase an aerial unit for the fire department. The developer insisted on the tower being painted black.
Argonne national Laboratory Fire Department

The Argonne Labs Fire Department put together this brush rig with a 1975 IHC pickup. Brush 75 had a 70-GPM pump and a 250-gallon water tank. Bill Friedrich photo

Argonne Laboratory FD built their own brush truck. It was the only non-red in the fleet.
Western Springs Fire Department Pierce Arrow engine white fire truck

One of the many units that saw service in Western Springs when their apparatus was painted white was this 1981 Pierce Arrow engine. It was one of the early Pierce Arrow models with a chassis that was made by Oshkosh. Engine 437 had a 1,500-GPM pump with 750 gallons of water. The top-mount control station featured a hand-rail due to the large and spacious area.At this point in time, Pierce was building the cab and body. It wasn’t until later that they began to assemble the entire chassis. Larry Shapiro photo

The current Western Springs Fire Department apparatus is red and white although previously their units were all white with blue and gold trim.
Romeoville Fire Department white rescue squad

The only unit that the Romeoville Fire Department has run with that was not red was this 1979 E-ONE (DOT) light-duty rescue on a Ford F-350 chassis. Perhaps what is most unusual about this is that these were normally delivered lime green. Bill Friedrich photo

Romeoville had a white light-duty rescue by E-ONE. Most of these units were delivered lime green as per the DOT spec.

McCook Fire Department yellow Seagrave engine

This was one of two Seagrave engines that was purchased by the McCook Fire Department and was painted yellow. Engine 379, built in 1979, had 500 gallons of water with a 1,250-GPM pump. Bill Friedrich photo

Many years ago, the McCook Fire Department had red apparatus, then they switched to bright yellow for several years before the fleet was changed again to red and white.

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The color of fire trucks (part 4)

The next installment in this series about Chicago area fire trucks looks into departments in MABAS Division 3 that over the years have changed over to red fire apparatus. Also highlighted is a department that was always red but at one time had an engine that was a different color.

Deerfield had two Ward LaFrance P80 series engines with the Ambassador cab. Engine 720 was delivered in 1973 with a 1,250-GPM pump and Engine 712 came in 1977. Engine 720 carried 750 gallons of water , Engine 712 carried 1,000 gallons, and both were painted white over lime green.

Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Department 1977 Ward LaFrance Ambassador engine

Deerfield Engine 712 was a 1977 Ward LaFrance P80 with an Ambassador cab. It had a 1,500-GPM pump with 1,000 gallons of water. Larry Shapiro collection

The Glenbrook Fire Protection District (formerly the Glenview Rural Fire Protection District) merged with the Glenview Fire Department in 1992. The original Glenview Rural trucks were red, then sometime after the district name changed  the Glenbrook apparatus was transitioned to yellow. Subsequent purchases arrived yellow. The department had three American LaFrance Pioneer Series engines, one of which was a newer Pioneer II model. They also had a small squad and a 1968 Ford/Snorkel. The red 75-foot Snorkel was refurbished in 1986 and came back yellow from Pierce with a new four-door Arrow cab. Later they purchased a newer squad from Hackney and two Pierce Arrow engines.

Glenbrook Fire Protection District Engine 144 1976 American LaFrance Pioneer

Glenbrook Engine 144 was a 1976 Pioneer Series from American LaFrance with 750 gallons of water and a 1,250-GPM pump. Larry Shapiro collection

Glenview apparatus has always been red. In 1975, they purchased a pumper-squad from Seagrave with a 300-gallon water tank. Squad 8 came white over lime green. This unit was later repainted red but retained the white roof.

Glenview Fire Department 1975 Seagrave PB series pumper squad

Glenview had this one unit that was not painted red. Pumper-Squad 8 was a 1975 Seagrave P-Series with 300 gallons of water and a 1,500-GPM pump. Larry Shapiro collection

For many years, Northbrook painted their units yellow, having previously been red. They had three engines, a Sutphen tower ladder, two squad units, and utility vehicles that were yellow. They also had a matching yellow stripe on their modular ambulances. The apparatus changed to white over red in 1996 when they received two engines, a squad, and a ladder from Pierce.

Northbrook Fire Department Engine 58 1975 American LaFrance Pacemaker

Northbrook Engine 58 was a 1975 American LaFrance Pacemaker Series engine with 500 gallons of water and a 1,000-GPM pump. The Pacemaker was a conventional custom fire cab by TCM instead of an American LaFrance custom Century or Pioneer cab. Larry Shapiro collection

The Park Ridge Fire Department ran with white over lime green apparatus for many years. Including this conventional Pirsch engine, they had a Mack CF/Pirsch mid-mount ladder, a custom cab-over Pirsch engine, and two Seagrave WB Series low profile engines that were painted to match. They also had stripes on their modular ambulances that matched the apparatus. All but the mid-mount ladder were later repainted red.

Park Ridge 1958 conventional Pirsch fire engine

Park Ridge Engine 44 shown here at a fire scene, was a 1958 conventional cab Pirsch with 500 gallons of water and a 1,000-GPM pump. Steve Redick collection

To see the earlier posts in this series, enter the word color into the search field.

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The color of fire trucks

The Wall Street Journal has a story which touches on the time honored fire service debate about the color of fire apparatus. The article is a piece about a small district in Florida which maintains a fleet that is painted a non-traditional color.

Throughout the rest of the country, red is the typical color for emergency vehicles—fire-engine red as the shade is often and aptly called. But for nearly four decades, firefighters in Palm Beach Gardens have opted for a garish yellow-green that they argue is easier to spot from a distance, even in the pea soup of a South Florida summer thunderstorm. The proof that Fire Chief Pete Bergel often cites: In his 30 years with the city, no fire-department vehicle has been rear-ended. The color “is in your face,” he says.

Throughout the rest of the country, red is the typical color for emergency vehicles—fire-engine red as the shade is often and aptly called. But for nearly four decades, firefighters in Palm Beach Gardens have opted for a garish yellow-green that they argue is easier to spot from a distance, even in the pea soup of a South Florida summer thunderstorm. The proof that Fire Chief Pete Bergel often cites: In his 30 years with the city, no fire-department vehicle has been rear-ended. The color “is in your face,” he says.

Local departments that are not red include Elk Grove Township in Division 1, Pingree-Grove and Rutland-Dundee in Division 2, Glencoe in Division 3, Fox Lake and Winthrop Harbor in Division 4, Clarendon Hills in Division 10, Fox River & Countryside in Division 13, Coal City in Division 15, Lisle-Woodridge in Division 16, Elwood in Division 19, and Crete in Division 27.

Over the years, many departments in the area have switched to red or a red two-tone color scheme from white, yellow, and lime green.

The complete Wall Street Journal article can be found HERE.

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