It is with sadness that we note the passing of Chicago FD Battalion Chief (ret) Warren Redick, the father of CFD Senior Fire Alarm Operator, fire photographer, frequent chicagoareafire.com contributor, and friend to many, Steve Redick.
Mr. Warren Albert Redick, age 86 of Bull Shoals, Arkansas passed away Saturday, January 10, 2015 at his home. He was born November 10, 1928 to Raymond and Myrtle (Baumann) Redick.
Mr. Redick enjoyed collecting and photography.
Mr. Redick is survived by his wife and soulmate, Mildred Redick of the home, one son Steven Redick (Linda), Steven’s mother, Joan, four step-children, Deanne Evans (Chuck), Bonnie Hesik (Tony Largent), Frank Hesik (Debbie), James Dixon (Terry), two grandchildren, Zachary and Frank. He was preceded in death by his parents, stepdaughter, Dawn and second wife, Pocahontas.
All services will be private.
From Steve Redick:
My dad was part of a vanishing breed … old school, no masks, high workload and little or no ems. He was in his prime at a time when the job was a much different profession than it is today. Unfortunately he and most of his colleagues have paid the ultimate price for the abuse their bodies took. Dad was always a fan from the time he was a small boy. His grandfather, Henry Redick was a fireman on a horse drawn steamer in the CFD. Dad’s father, Raymond was a member of the fire insurance patrol, later becoming assistant chief.
Dad started out his career as a “patrolio” and spent many years on the various companies, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant. In 1959 when the patrols disbanded, he was finally able to realize his dream of becoming a Chicago fireman. He was a candidiate on squad 8 and spent time as a fireman on numerous companies including SS1 and Snorkel 2. One of dad’s best assignments was being the Captain of SS3 … he was there when the company was organized. They only had a Snorkel for a very short time, and mostly ran with junk, but they were arguably one of the busiest companies in the entire country, if not the world. As a little guy I was able to go ride there once or twice after they made the move to Erie street. Dad was at many famous fires including the Mickleberry Fire and the bowling alley fire at Milwaukee and Spaulding. That’s the one with the famous photo of the Snorkel basket rescue with a member being held onto the basket of Snorkel 7 as they brought him down from the collapsed roof. Dad was not in the photo, but he and his guys were on the roof and made the original rescue to bring him to the basket.
