Engine 109, Truck 32, Ambulance 3, and the 14th Battalion officially moved into new quarters today at 2343 S. Kedzie.

Companies relocated today around noon.
Previous posts about this new station can be found HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Oct 19
Posted by bgshap in Fire Department History, Fire Department News, New Fire Station | 1 Comment
Engine 109, Truck 32, Ambulance 3, and the 14th Battalion officially moved into new quarters today at 2343 S. Kedzie.
Companies relocated today around noon.
Previous posts about this new station can be found HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Tags: CFD Engine 109's new house, Chicago Engine 109, Chicago Fire Department, new Chicago fire house, new fire station, new station
May 28
Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, Fire Service News, New Fire Station, Reader submission | 4 Comments
Dan McInerney visited the construction site this week for Engine 109’s new house and submitted several images documenting the progress.
A view of the north side showing the front of the station and the apparatus bays. All of the interior work in the bays is complete. Piping, electrical drops and Plymovent are all installed and ready to go. Dan McInerney photo
A shot showing the rear of the apparatus bays and the hose tower. Dan McInerney photo
The parking lot on the north side of the station is being constructed with concrete pavers. Dan McInerney photo
Closeup of the concrete paver installation. Dan McInerney photo
The front entrance area will have quite a bit of glass. Dan McInerney photo
The stairwell on the backside of the hose tower. Dan McInerney photo
Previous posts with photos and information on the new station construction can be found HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Tags: Chicago Engine 109, Chicago Fire Department, construction update, Dan McInerney, fire station construction, fire station under construction, new station
May 22
Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, Fire Service News, New Fire Station | 1 Comment
Huntley Station 4 appears completed from the outside except for landscaping and paving of the street. Larry Shapiro photo
Station 4 in Huntley is almost finished. Located on Algonquin Road west of Square Barn Road, the station sits off of Algonquin on the south side. The fire station shares a driveway with the Algonquin Bank and Trust. Previous posts HERE and HERE chronicle some of the stages of construction.
Tags: Huntley Fire Protection District, Larry Shapiro, new fire station, new station
Feb 1
Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, Fire Service News, New Fire Station | Comments off
As of 0700 this morning, Station 42 went into service for the Wheeling Fire Department. Housed in the police station complex at 1 Community Drive, Wheeling Fire is running Engine 24 out of one of the apparatus bays which used to house Station 24 before they moved to 499 S. Milwaukee Avenue. If the address of Station 42 is confusing, it is the new address to the building that used to be known as 255 W. Dundee Road.
Engine Company 24 is now running out of Station 42. Station 23 has Ambulance and Engine 23 staffed, and the headquarters Station 24 has Battalion 24, Ambulance 24, and Truck 42 that are staffed. The truck company can jump to Ambulance 42 if needed or Squad 42.
Tags: Engine 24, jump company, new station, Wheeling Fire Department, Wheeling Fire Station 42
Jan 30
Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, Fire Service News | Comments off
In a previous post HERE, we outlined the variations in CFD fire house designs built under the Alive 21 program. The stations built were for Engines 18, 38, 63, 70, 84, 88, 102, 121, Air/Sea Rescue, and Engine 109 which has not yet been completed. Some of the differences that were highlighted included two similar designs that differed by the inclusion of a hose tower, the roof line, and the amount of glass along the top of the apparatus bays. A third design is being implemented for Engine 109’s new house and a new house for Engine 16. The building for Engine 16 though begins what the City of Chicago Public Building Commission (PBC) is calling the first of the ‘Prototype B’ engine company houses (which is confusing because the house for Engine 109 is the same design).
Square footage for each house varies depending exactly on the individual needs of the companies assigned. Ranging from 14,000 square feet for Engine 102’s house to 18,000 square feet for Engine 121’s house, the differences incorporate the office space, meeting space, and training spaces allocated to each facility. Engine 16’s new house will have 18,500 square feet of space which includes Haz-mat unit operations with associated storage and EMS Field Division South offices.
The site sign depicting the new house for Engine 109.
When the Alive 21 program began, the rear entry to the three apparatus bays included only two doors that are both wider than a single sized door. These designs are in effect for the stations of Engines 38, 63, 84, and 88.
The rear apparatus bay doors of Engine 63's house shows the original two-door design. Steve Redick photo
A design change then altered this to incorporate three single width bay doors at the rear of the apparatus bays matching the three doors on the front of the bays. Houses for Engines 18, 70, 102, and 121 were each built with three doors at the rear of the apparatus bays.
Engine 121's house shows the updated design which features three bays doors on both sides of the apparatus bays. Hank Sajovic photo
The Chicago Public Building Commission website has links to the Fire Station projects HERE for the completed houses and HERE for the two active projects. The links for the two current projects include galleries of site photos chronicling the progress of each job.
The house for Engine 88 at 3637 W. 59th Street has the hose tower. Karl Klotz photo
The design for Engine 102 at 7340 N. Clark Street is without a hose tower. Larry Shapiro photo
Engine 121's house is at 1700 W. 95th Street. The apron design here has different landscaping along the driveway with a large grassy area unlike other houses with more concrete immediately outside the apparatus bays. This house also has the large solar panels on the roof. Hank Sajovic photo
Hank Sajovic points out that at one point the ‘front’ of the building was reversed for Engine 84’s house since the apparatus exits their building to the west even though the watch room is on the east side. All of the stations were built to have the ‘front’ on the left hand side of the building when viewed straight-on from the street, facing the flag poles.
Apparatus in Engine 84's house runs out of the east side of the building, opposite of the side with the watch room. Hank Sajovic photo
Tags: Alive 21, Chicago Engine 109, Chicago Engine 121, Chicago Engine 16, Chicago Engine 63, Chicago Engine 84, Chicago Fire Department, Chicago Public Building Commission, Hank Sajovic, new fire station, new station, Steve Redick
Jan 28
Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, Fire Service News, New Fire Station | 8 Comments
Construction has begun for the new house at 53 E. Pershing Road that will be home to Engine 16, Ambulance 35, EMS Field Division South, and 5-1-1. The site has been cleared of the former warehouse and basement. Foundation work is underway with preparations for the footings.
The sign at the construction site for Engine 16's new firehouse that is underway. Hank Sajovic photo
This house has several notable differences in design than most of the other recent houses, although it appears to match the new house for Engine 109 at 2343 S. Kedzie Avenue.
The sign at the construction site for Engine 109's new house depicts the same rendering as for Engine 16. Hank Sajovic photo
An artist's rendering illustrating the new houses for Engine 16 and Engine 109.
The shape of these two new houses is squared off with lots of glass. The roof of the apparatus bays is flat where the others have an angled awning type roof. There is also different brick trim along the top of the brick walls and glass along the interior of the house instead of it being all brick. This house has a squared hose tower, and although several of the other stations lack one, the hose tower is rounded where they have been built. The new stations also have both horizontal and vertical windows as opposed to all The shape is squared off where others have an angled awning above the apparatus bays and different brick trim along the top of the brick walls. This house will have a hose tower though some of the others do not.windows previously.
Engine 18's house at 1360 S. Blue Island Avenue has much less glass in the design than the newer stations. This building also features the angled awning-like roof over the apparatus bays. Hank Sajovic photo
This house at 21 W. 59th Street is home to Engine 84, Truck 51, Ambulance 36, and Deputy District 5. This building has a rounded hose tower which differs from the square design for Engine 16 and Engine 109. Hank Sajovic photo
This house in the 9th Battalion is known as the 'Full House' since it is home to Engine 59, Engine 70, Truck 47, Ambulance 13 and Battalion 9. Located at 6030 N. Clark Street, it has no hose tower and a much smaller footprint on the 'front' end when compared to Engine 18's house. Hank Sajovic photo
The stations that have a hose tower also have a conventional door built into the overhead door in the apparatus bay closest to the street.
Engine 63's house at 1440 E. 67th Street has the rounded hose tower like Engine 84's house. This design also has more glass above the apparatus bays when compared to the stations without the hose towers. Hank Sajovic photo
The house at 3949 W. 16th Street which is home to Engine 38, Truck 48, and Deputy District 2 matches in style to the other buildings with the hose tower and the awning roof. Hank Sajovic photo
Tags: Chicago Engine 109, Chicago Engine 16, Chicago Engine 18, Chicago Engine 38, Chicago Engine 59, Chicago Engine 63, Chicago Engine 70, Chicago Engine 84, Chicago Fire Department, fire station, Hank Sajovic, new fire station, new station
Nov 19
Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, New Fire Station | Comments off
Construction is well underway on the new Palatine Fire Department Station 81 at 1215 N. Quentin Road, south of Dundee Road. The station is less than a mile from the current, outdated station which Palatine inherited from the Palatine Rural Fire District in January of 2001. When the fire department occupies the new facility, the Palatine Masonic Temple will move into the vacant fire station at 455 Dundee Road that was built in the early 1980s.
The new station 81 will be set back from the road with a fairly long driveway unlike the current facility. In addition, apparatus will enter onto a four-lane road with a center median. This will allow them easier and safer access to the roadway than they have now on the narrow stretch of Dundee Road which is heavily travelled and gets backed up daily. Larry Shapiro photo
The new fire station will have roughly 8,700 square feet of space and will be home to Quint 81 and Ambulance 81 which is currently a jump company. Larry Shapiro photo
This is the current Station 81 in Palatine that used to belong to the Palatine Rural Fire District. Larry Shapiro photo
Tags: fire station construction, Larry Shapiro, new station, Palatine Fire Department, Palatine Rural Fire Department
Oct 27
Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, New Fire Station, New Listing | Comments off
Another Lake County, MABAS Division 4 department has been added to the site. Formerly known as the Bonnie Brook Fire Protection District, The Beach Park Fire Department covers roughly 14 square miles in northeast Lake County which includes unincorporated areas of the county as well as Beach Park. They do not though currently provide coverage for the entire town of Beach Park as the Winthrop Harbor Fire Department has responsibility for a portion of the town.
According to the Beach Park Village Link Newsletter in the winter of 2003:
The New Beach Park Fire Department
In the last months of 2002, there were plenty of positive changes in the fire protection services for our village. Formerly known as the “Bonnie Brook Fire Protection District”, the name was officially changed to the “Beach Park Fire Department” (BPFD) last November to better define the department’s capabilities and service areas.
Beach Park has a mixture of apparatus in the fleet including Alexis, Pierce, Seagrave, Medtec, and Osage. The newest rig is Engine 1222 which is a 2008 Seagrave Maurauder II engine. Currently, Beach Park Engine 1212, a 2002 HME/Alexis engine is undergoing work at Alexis Fire Apparatus.
Engine 1211 prior to the creation of the Beach Park FD was lettered for the Bonnie Brook FPD. Larry Shapiro photo
Bonnie Brook FPD Engine 1211 shortly after being delivered by Pierce in 1993. Larry Shapiro collection
In recent Beach Park FD news, they have opened a second station at 13110 W. Major Avenue in Beach Park. This interesting station originated as an existing house with an attached garage. The garage was modified as a lobby and office area and a two-bay addition was then added for the apparatus. At the present time, this station has a crew of two or three which are a jump company, staffing either the engine or ambulance based on the nature of a request for service.
Beach Park Station 2 at 13110 W. Major Avenue opened in April of 2010. Larry Shapiro photo
Beach Park Fire Department Station 2
Tags: Alexis, Beach Park, Bonnie Brook, decal, HME, Lake County, MABAS Division 4, Maurauder II, MedTec, new station, Osage, Pierce, Saber, Seagrave, Winthrop Harbor
Oct 11
Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, New Fire Station | Comments off
The Grant Park Fire District in MABAS Division 7 has opened a new station at 12624 East Route 1 & 17 in Grant Park.
The new headquarters station for the Grant Park Fire District opened on the 7th of October. Photo by Karl Klotz
Tags: Division 7, Grant Park, Klotz, new station, station
Jun 3
Posted by bgshap in Fire Department News, New Fire Station | Comments off
The new station in Wheeling on Milwaukee Avenue is coming along with a projected opening in July. The new Station 14 in Mount Prospect still has not received the permanent doors with glass for the front of the apparatus bays.
Progress as of June 2, 2010 on Wheeling's new fire station on Milwaukee Avenue. The station is due to open in July.
Mount Prospect Station 14 on Kensington Road as seen on June 2, 2010 with the temporary solid bay doors.
Tags: Mount Prospect, Mt Prospect, MTPR, new station, Shapiro, station, Wheeling, WHLG
For the finest department portraits and composites contact Tim Olk or Larry Shapiro.
Arclite theme by digitalnature | powered by WordPress