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Evanston Fire Department history Part 71

Apr 21

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History | Comments off

From Phil Stenholm:

Another installment about History of Evanston Fire Department

 

STEE-RIKE! 

Two major fires occurred in Evanston within about a month of each other in early 1974. The Evanston Fire Department battled an extra alarm fire in the service department of the Humphrey Chevrolet automobile dealership at 635 Chicago Avenue on a Sunday afternoon in January 1974, and then a very large fire at the Marblecast Company warehouse at 1920 Ridge Avenue on a Saturday night in February.

Located at the northeast corner of Chicago & Keeney, Humphrey Chevrolet’s main garage door opened onto Keeney Street, and it was through this entrance that firefighters attacked the flames. Very much like the Moto-Port fire in 1956 and the Holiday Lincoln-Mercury fire in 1968, this blaze involved vehicles, gasoline, and other flammables located inside a commercial garage, producing thick black smoke that poured out of the garage and permeated the neighborhood.

Crews from Engine 22 and Squad 21 initially attacked the fire with hand-lines, before being forced to back-out when conditions in the interior worsened. Engine 24 took the hydrant at Hinman & Keeney and supplied water for Engine 22 and Squad 21. Engine 21 and Engine 23 responded on the second alarm and led-out multiple 2-1/2 inch hose-lines, with Engine 21 pumping from the hydrant at Chicago & South Boulevard, and Engine 23 pumping from the one located on the east-side of Chicago Avenue half a block north of Keeney. The service department was gutted and several vehicles were destroyed before the flames were extinguished. The estimated loss from this fire was $160,000.

About a month after the Humphrey Chevrolet fire, the EFD responded to a report of a fire at the Marblecast warehouse. Located in the former Bowman Dairy building, the blaze was initially attacked from the interior with hand-lines manned by the first-arriving engine companies, while Truck 21 ventilated the roof. F-2 ordered a second alarm, bringing Engine 25, Engine 22, and Truck 22 to the scene, with second alarm companies ordered to protect the Fields Cadillac automobile dealership exposure to the north.

Mutual aid was requested from Wilmette, and Engine 202 responded to EFD Station # 1 to provide coverage for the city, as Engine 24 — the last remaining EFD engine company available — was dispatched to the fire. Despite a valiant effort by the engine companies, the fire had gained too much headway to allow firefighters to knock it down, so crews were ordered out of the building and the fight went defensive.

With Truck 21 working on the east side and Truck 22 operating from the C&NW RR freight siding on the west side, the EFD’s two ladder trucks provided elevated master streams that were played through the roof after it collapsed, as well as 35-foot and 50-foot ground ladders used to access the roof of the Fields Cadillac automobile dealership. The general manager of the auto dealership as well as several employees responded from home and moved a number of Caddies out of the showroom and service department.

A full Code 10 was ordered by Chief Beattie, calling in firefighters from the two off-duty shifts, many of them responding from a party hosted by IAFF Local 742. The two reserve engines and the reserve truck were manned by off-duty crews arriving at Stations 3, 4, and 5, while other firefighters were shuttled to the scene in EFD station wagons and the International pick-up truck.

The auto dealership to the north was saved but the warehouse was gutted, with an estimated property loss loss of $543,000, the sixth-highest loss from a fire in Evanston’s history up until that point time. Only the fires at the American Hospital Supply Corporation ($1.9 million loss in October 1963), the Rolled Steel Corporation ($1.4 million loss in January 1970), Bramson’s clothing store ($1.2 million in October 1971), the Northwestern University Technological Institute ($620,000 loss in December 1940), and Hines Lumber Yard ($545,000 loss in March 1971) sustained a higher property loss.

During the 1960’s, IAFF Local 742 grew increasingly militant under the dynamic leadership of Michael Lass. Lass joined the EFD in 1963, and was promoted to Captain in 1970. However, his real talent was as a union operative. Capt. Lass resigned from the EFD in 1971, giving up a promising career as a fire officer to take a full-time job as IAFF Illinois field representative. Capt. William Currie, a 20-year veteran of the EFD, succeeded Lass as president of Local 742, but the union was no less militant under Capt. Currie than it had been under Capt. Lass.

At 6 AM on Thursday, February 28, 1974, just a few days after the Marblecast fire, 88 members of Local 742 led by Capt. Currie went on strike, the first significant job action by Evanston firemen since eleven of the twelve members of the part-time paid EFD resigned en masse in a dispute with Chief Sam Harrison in 1888. Requesting an immediate 10% pay raise and a reduction in their work-week, Evanston firefighters struck only after the City of Evanston refused to negotiate.

With 88 members of the Evanston Fire Department plus their families, friends, and citizens sympathetic to the cause walking picket lines in front of the five fire stations, EFD chiefs, police officers who had been cross-trained as auxiliary firefighters in 1958, and other assorted “volunteers” from various city departments were ordered to man the fire stations. Two police officers were assigned to each of the three police station wagon ambulances, as the Evanston PD responded to inhalator calls without EFD support. The Village of Skokie agreed to allow its fire department to provide mutual aid to Evanston, but only in the event of a working fire.

The City of Evanston requested and received an emergency court injunction to stop the strike, but only after another judge refused to grant one. Members of Local 742 returned to work at 11 AM on Saturday, March 2nd, the strike having lasted 53 hours. No significant fires occurred during the strike. Despite some in city government claiming the city had won, the Evanston City Council recognized Local 742 as the collective bargaining entity for Evanston firefighters, and directed City Manager Ed Martin and the city attorney to negotiate with the union. As a result, Evanston firefighters received a significant pay raise, and the average work-week was reduced from 56 to 54 hours.

In the year prior to the strike (1973), annual salaries for “topped out” members of the Evanston Fire Department ranged from $20,600 (Chief) to $17,880 (Assistant Chief) to $15,192 (Captain) to $13,848 (Fire Equipment Mechanic) to $13,008 (Fireman I). By 1977, annual salaries for “topped out” members of the EFD had increased to $29,000 (Chief), $23,952 (Assistant Chief), $19,788 (Captain), $18,660 (Fire Equipment Mechanic), and $17,256 (Fireman I), in each case an increase of anywhere from 30% – 40% over the four-year period. This increase is made even more significant when combined with a reduction in the average work-week from 56 to 54 hours during the same period of time.

Reducing the work-week was accomplished by the return of the “Kelly Day” (henceforth to be known as a “Short Day”), a concept that had been phased-out when the three-platoon system and 56-hour work-week were implemented in April 1957. Beginning in 1975, each Evanston firefighter working a shift would receive an extra day off every twelve weeks (a five-day mini-vacation after every 27 days worked). To provide the three additional men needed to cover short days (one extra man on each platoon), one of the two captain’s positions in the Fire Prevention Bureau was eliminated, and the EFD was increased from 100 to 102 members.

The “Collective Bargaining Bill” was signed into law by Illinois Governor James Thompson on December 10, 1985. In addition to providing collective bargaining rights for Illinois firefighters, the bill also made strikes by firefighters illegal. However, Evanston firefighters won collective bargaining rights in 1974 because they were willing to risk their careers by going out on strike after the city refused to negotiate, which in subsequent  contracts helped lead to more substantial pay raises, a further reduction in the work-week, and improvements in working conditions. 

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Evanston Fire Department history Part 70

Apr 14

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History | 1 Comment

From Phil Stenholm:

Another installment about History of Evanston Fire Department

 

THE SAFETY YELLOW PLAN 

Long-time Assistant Chief Ed Fahrbach retired in July 1972 after 43 years of service with the Evanston Fire Department. He was sixth longest-serving member of the EFD at the time of his retirement, behind only Albert Hofstetter (49 years), Tom McEnery (46 years), J. E. Mersch (45 years), Michael Garrity (44 years), and Jim Geishecker (44 years). Chief Fahrbach’s father — Edward G. Fahrbach — served as an Evanston firefighter 1916-40.  

Hired in 1929, Chief Fahrbach was promoted to lieutenant in 1944, to captain in 1949, and then to assistant chief (platoon commander) when the EFD went to the three platoon schedule in 1958. He was also a platoon drillmaster in the 1950’s. Chief Fahrbach was the only Evanston fireman hired prior to the Great Depression who was still on the job in the 1970’s. Unfortunately, his golden years didn’t last very long, as he died in 1973, just a year after he retired.

Chief Fire Marshal Jim Wheeler retired in ill health in 1973 after 27 years of service, only two years after he was appointed chief. Chief Wheeler’s father and brother also served with the EFD, with his brother Chester retiring at the same time as Assistant Chief Fahrbach in 1972. For a period of about a year after Jim was appointed chief and before Chester retired, Chester was one of Jim’s buggy drivers. After retiring from the EFD, Chester became a Police / Fire communications operator. 27-year EFD veteran Assistant Chief George Beattie replaced Chief Wheeler as chief fire marshal in September 1973.

Several other veteran Evanston firefighters retired in 1973, including Capt. George “Bud” Hofstetter (Engine 23) after 32 years of service, Capt. Vic Majewski (Truck 22) after 31 years of service, and Fireman Ernie Bouchard after 26 years of service. Also, Capt. Len Driskell (Engine 24) and Fireman Neal Smithwick retired on disability pensions in 1973.

Capt. Ed Pettinger was promoted to assistant chief fire marshal and replaced Ed Fahrbach as a platoon commander in 1972, and Capt. Sanders “Sam” Hicks was promoted to assistant chief fire marshal and replaced George Beattie as a platoon commander in 1973. Chief Hicks was the EFD’s first African American chief officer. Also, firemen Don Melzer, Bill Currie, Fred Nelson, and Don Sherrie were promoted to captain in 1973. Capt. Currie was IAFF Local 742 chapter president at the time of his promotion, having succeeded Michael Lass after Lass resigned in September 1971 to take a position with the IAFF as Illinois field rep.

New firefighters hired in 1973 were Jim Cox, Jim Dillon, Lou LoBianco, Dave Busch, Roger Bush, Dave O’Malley, Benjamin Phillips, Jim Hayes. and Bob Marti, Also, Faith Seiler was hired as the chief’s secretary, a new position created to replace the chief’s buggy drivers who had served as administrative assistants to the chief since 1901. Faith Seiler transferred to the Evanston Police Department in February 1974 and was replaced by June Eastman. In addition, long-time Fire Prevention Bureau administrative assistant Eleanor Franzen retired in 1972. Shirley Breitenstein replaced Eleanor Franzen, and then Sandra Waas replaced Shirley Breitenstein about a year later.

Jim Wheeler and George Beattie were hired off the same civil service list in 1946, but they had rather different styles as once they became the chief fire marshal. Chief Wheeler was a traditionalist and didn’t change anything once he was appointed chief, but Chief Beattie had a number of new ideas that he proposed and then implemented after becoming chief. Probably the most significant immediate change was reassigning his buggy-drivers to the Fire Prevention Bureau, where they would work shifts as inspectors and photographers instead of as chief’s drivers and administrative assistants. To that end, a new 1973 Plymouth station wagon was purchased for Chief Beattie, so that the chief now had a “take home” car and would no longer need a driver.

The only emergency lights on the chief’s new vehicle were red lens covers over the high-beam headlights, and a magnetic “Kojak light” that could be connected to the cigarette lighter and then placed on the roof when responding to an emergency. Also, the chief would no longer automatically respond to working fires. He would be notified about the incident by the Police / Fire Communications center, and then he would decide whether to respond to the incident or allow the platoon commander to remain in charge.

To improve the visibility of fire apparatus, Chief Beattie ordered all new EFD vehicles purchased to be painted in non-traditional “safety yellow.” Also, to reduce noise pollution, electronic sirens were to be installed on all new EFD vehicles, and the sirens were to be placed in manual mode and used only in short bursts when approaching intersections, pedestrians, and/or traffic congestion. 

Probably the most radical idea proposed by Chief Beattie was the creation of a new Emergency Medical Services Bureau, with firefighters volunteering for the program being cross-trained as paramedics and then staffing Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU) ambulances. Once the program was implemented, the plan was for the MICU ambulances to replace stretcher and first-aid equipped police station wagon patrol cars backed-up by stretcher and first-aid equipped EFD station wagon staff cars that had been providing ambulance service in Evanston since 1958.

Until such time as MICU ambulances could be acquired and firefighters could be cross-trained as paramedics, Chief Beattie ordered engine companies responding to inhalator calls to use EFD station wagons whenever possible, in order to reduce wear and tear on the increasingly more expensive EFD pumpers, and to have a vehicle with a stretcher available at the scene in case the police ambulance was delayed or had to be diverted to a police emergency. The main problem with this plan was that while the engine company was at an inhalator call or returning to quarters from an inhalator call, the engine was not available to respond to a fire until the company was physically back in quarters. This same problem would become an issue several years later, when ambulances were sometimes staffed by engine or truck “jump companies.”

As one might expect, given the long history and tradition of the Evanston Fire Department there was a bit of resistance and push-back from some of the more veteran members of the EFD against Chief Beattie’s ideas, but they were all eventually implemented. Only the “safety yellow” fire engines equipped with electronic sirens did not ultimately stand the test of time. 

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Evanston Fire Department history Part 69

Apr 6

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History | Comments off

From Phil Stenholm:

Another installment about History of Evanston Fire Department

 

AND THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMIN’ 


Chief Lester Breitzman retired in July 1971, after 35 years of service with the Evanston Fire Department. Chief Breitzman was one of only four firemen hired by the City of Evanston between 1932 and 1939, as the country was in the grip of the Great Depression. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1947, to captain in 1952, and to assistant chief in 1957. He commanded the Fire Prevention Bureau for eight years prior to being appointed chief in 1964.

In addition to Chief Breitzman’s retirement, Capt. Leonard Bach (29 years of service), and firemen Ed Lyyjoki (23 years of service), Robert Godeman (20 years of service), and Richard Hennessey (24 years of service) also retired in 1971. Capt. Michael Lass resigned just one year after being promoted to captain, taking a position as IAFF Illinois field rep. A brilliant union leader, Capt.Lass had been president of Local 742 prior to his resignation. 

Twenty five-year veteran Assistant Chief Jim Wheeler served as acting chief when Chief Breitzman retired, and then was appointed chief fire marshal in October. Chief Wheeler’s father Orville was an Evanston firefighter 1914-24, passing away after a short illness in July 1924, just days before he was to have been promoted to lieutenant. Orville was a chief’s buggy-driver prior to his death, and his older son (and Jim’s older brother) Chester was a long-time chief’s buggy-driver / administrative assistant as well, before he retired in 1972. 

Capt. Robert Brandt was promoted to assistant chief and replaced Chief Wheeler as a platoon commander, and firemen Jim Burns and John “Skip” Hrejsa and fire equipment mechanic Ernie Bongratz were promoted to captain in 1971. New firemen hired were Phil Burns, Dave Cleland, William Noland, Bruce Peters, Dave Pettinger, and Ken Semrow in 1971, and Michael Lipnisky in 1972.   

The EFD added three new Dodge station wagons to the fleet in 1970-71, with the two 1970 Dodge wagons assigned to the Fire Prevention Bureau (F-3 & F-4), and the 1971 Dodge wagon assigned to the platoon commander (F-2). The new station wagons replaced a 1963 Plymouth station wagon, a 1964 Plymouth station wagon, and a 1962 Ford station wagon. The new F-3 was an auxiliary ambulance just like the previous F-3, equipped with a stretcher and first-aid gear and garaged at Station # 5 at night and on weekends when not being used by an FPB inspector, available to be staffed by Engine 25 when needed. 

An unusual incident occurred on August 9, 1971, when a seaplane taking off from Lake Michigan near Clark Street Beach crashed and capsized. The U. S. Coast Guard crew stationed at Wilmette Harbor responded to the crash aboard their cutter, and Squad 21 responded aboard the EFD’s DUKW (F-7). A USCG rescue helicopter also responded. Both of the occupants in the plane were rescued.


Major fires occurring during Chief Wheeler’s regime, including one at the J. P. Schermerhorn & Company condominium at 838 Michigan Avenue in September 1971 ($95,000 damage), another that gutted Bramson’s clothing store at 1711 Sherman Avenue in October 1971 ($1.2 million loss), one at the Evanston Scrap Metal & Iron works at 1311 Foster Street in January 1972 ($150,000 loss), one at the Freedman Seating Company warehouse at 2000 Greenleaf Street in February 1973 ($100,000 damage), and an explosion and fire at a laboratory inside the Northwestern University Technological Institute at 2145 Sheridan Road ($87,167 damage) in March 1973.

The condo fire in September 1971 involved a fairly new five-story multi-unit residence that required a high-rise attack, with water supplied by engines pumping into stand-pipes, engine companies donning SCBA and carrying hotel loads into the building and attacking the blaze from the floor below the fire floor, and truck companies ventilating the floors above the fire. It was a complicated operation that required personnel to rotate in and out of the building as SCBA air supply ran out. Bottles were transported back & forth via EFD station wagons and the International pick-up truck from the scene to Station # 1, where the bottles could be refilled. 

The fire at the upscale Bramson’s clothing store in the downtown “high value district” was reported about 45 minutes before the 8 AM shift change, so that the oncoming shift was available to staff the two reserve engines and the reserve truck. This allowed all five engine companies, both truck companies, and Squad 21 to respond to the fire within the first few minutes. The fire was located in the basement, and crews from Engine 21, 22, and 23 spent about half an hour attempting to locate the seat of the blaze, while Truck 21 ventilated, and Truck 22 and Squad 21 performed salvage duties. .

Unfortunately, the fire eventually worked its way up through the walls into the first floor, at which point crews were ordered out of the building and the fight went defensive. The aerial ladders of both Truck 21 and Truck 22 were extended to establish elevated master streams, with water supplied by Engine 24 pumping from Davis & Sherman and Engine 25 pumping from Clark & Sherman. Engine 23 took the hydrant at the northwest corner of Church & Sherman, supplying a monitor set-up on the roof of Lytton’s clothing store to the south,

Engine 21 supplied another monitor set-up in front of the store from the hydrant located on the east side of Sherman Avenue just north of the fire, and Engine 22 was at the hydrant at Church and Orrington, supplying 2-1/2 inch lines to a monitor located in the alley. Engine 21, Engine 22, and Engine 23 also supplied hand lines that were used in the initial interior attack and then again later once the fire was under control. The $1.2 million loss from this fire was the third highest loss from a fire in Evanston’s history up until that point in time.           

The Evanston Scrap Metal and Iron Works fire on Foster Street was more than a junkyard fire. Although the business was involved in the acquisition of scrap metal (including a couple of old Evanston fire trucks), it recycled the metal for use in various types of construction projects. This was a “surround and drown” type of fight that involved using master streams to knock down the main fire, and then hand-lines used in an extensive overhaul that lasted many hours.

The fire at the Freedman Seating Company warehouse on Greenleaf Street was a day-long slog, as truck companies ventilated, Squad 21 salvaged, and three engine companies supplied hand-lines from nearby hydrants. This was just one of many fires to occur over the years in a business located in close proximity to the C&NW RR Mayfair Division freight tracks on the west side of Evanston.

The $87,167 loss from the fire at the Northwestern University Technological Institute stemmed mainly from the initial explosion. Firefighters made an interior attack using stand-pipes and hotel loads, and the fire in the lab was knocked-down fairly quickly by Engine 23 and Engine 21. Five years later, the Unabomber sent a mail bomb to the same facility. An NUDPS officer was injured when he opened the suspicious package. The 1973 fire & explosion at the N. U. Tech building was the second major fire to occur there. In December 1940, Evanston and Chicago firemen battled a major conflagration involving the building’s superstructure while it was still under construction.

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Evanston Fire Department history Part 68

Mar 29

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History | 1 Comment

From Phil Stenholm:

Another installment about History of Evanston Fire Department

 
STEEL, LUMBER, TRAFFIC, AND ICE 

By 1970, Evanston’s population stood at a robust 80,113, up slightly from 1960 (79,383). The next ten years, however, would see a steady decline in population. Evanston’s 1980 census counted 73,706 residents, down nearly 10% from 1970, and back to a population total not seen in Evanston since 1950. Evanston’s population has remained constant at just under 75,000 since 1980.

Evanston incurred three major fires over the first four months of 1970 that together caused more than $2 million in damage. The first one was at the Rolled Steel Corporation plant at 2100 Greenwood Street on a frigid day in January. The fire was caused by an out-of-control furnace that ignited a rolling mill. Station # 1 and Station # 4 companies responded on the initial alarm, with Truck 22 and Engine 25 dispatched on the second alarm about 30 minutes later to provide additional manpower, as companies were rotated in & out of the very hot interior.

Because of the value of the equipment and stock destroyed in the fire, the loss was estimated $1.4 million, the second highest loss from fire in Evanston’s history up to that point in time. However, other than the very high dollar loss, the fire itself wasn’t spectacular. Only Engine 21 and Engine 24 led-out and pumped during the course of the fire, with the other companies engaged in extensive ventilation and salvage work,

At about 8 PM on the cold, windy night of Sunday, March 10, 1970, the Evanston Fire Department responded to a report of a fire at the Hines Lumber yard at 1613 Church St. Companies from Station #1 were on scene within three minutes followed by Engine 24 a minute later, but the flames had already gained considerable headway by the time crews arrived.

Upon arrival, F-2 immediately ordered a second alarm that brought Engine 23 and Engine 25 to the  fire, followed a minute later by a mutual-aid request for two Skokie engines, a Wilmette engine, and a full Code 10 (call-back of all off-duty Evanston firefighters). Squad 21 led out two 1-1/2 inch pre-connects initially to try and knock the fire down, but there was just too much fuel and too much wind. Squad 21 then switched to its deluge turret nozzle, with Engine 21 supplying Squad 21’s master stream after hooking up to the hydrant at the southeast corner of Church & Florence. Engine 21 also led out additional 2-1/2 inch hand-lines.

Truck 21 took a position in the parking lot of the business to the east of the lumber yard and extended its aerial ladder almost immediately after arriving. Engine 24 took the hydrant at Church & Ashland and supplied Truck 21’s elevated master-stream. Engine 25 grabbed the hydrant at the northeast corner of Church & Darrow and led out 2-1/2 inch lines that supplied a monitor placed atop the elevated C&NW RR Mayfair Division freight tracks located on the west side of the lumber yard.

Skokie Engine 2 pulled up across the street from the lumber yard and connected to the hydrant on the south side of Church Street, leading-out multiple 2-1/2 inch hand lines manned by personnel from Skokie FD Engine 2 and Squad-Engine 1. Wilmette Engine 206 backed-down Florence Avenue from Davis Street and dropped two loads of 2-1/2 inch line before taking the hydrant at Davis & Florence. A load of 2-1/2 inch line from Engine 23 was connected to Engine 21, but Engine 23 did not pump at the fire. 

Engine 22 and Truck 22 responded to the fire once off-duty firefighters began to arrive and placed the two reserve engines and the reserve truck into service, and were assigned to protect exposures to the west of the Mayfair tracks. It was essentially a big bonfire, as lumber, sheds, and the company office were destroyed. Damage was estimated at $545,00, the fourth highest loss from fire in Evanston’s history, behind only the American Hospital Supply Corporation fire (1963), the Northwestern University Technological Institute fire (1940), and the Rolled Steel Corporation fire (January 1970).

Just a few days after the lumber yard fire, the EFD battled a stubborn blaze at the world-famous Northwestern University Traffic Institute (NUTI) at 1802 Hinman Ave. Founded in 1933 by Evanston Police Lt. Frank Kreml in partnership with Northwestern University, NUTI was located in a large 19th century wood-frame mansion just south of the campus. The institute offered college-level courses in accident investigation, accident prevention, and traffic enforcement strategy. Its curriculum was eventually expanded to include all aspects of police science, including administration and management. Future police chiefs from all over the world attended NUTI.

Companies from Station # 1 arrived first, with Chief Breitzman ordering a second alarm that brought an additional engine company and an additional truck company to the scene. The fire was ensconced somewhere deep within the bowels of the venerable structure, such that extensive probing, pulling of ceiling, and opening up walls was required just to locate the seat of the blaze. It was an all-day operation that initially involved surgical roof ventilation and a lot of salvage work by the truck companies, before firemen were ordered out of building as the fight went defensive. The historic structure was gutted, with the loss estimated at $130,000.

Capt. Ted Bierchen (21 years of service), Capt. Dan Lorden (24 years of service), and Capt. Dave Tesnow (24 years of service) retired in 1970. Firemen Michael Lass, Jim Mersch Jr, and Joe Burton were promoted to captain on December 1st. Capt. Burton joined Capt. Sanders “Sam” Hicks (promoted in 1963) and Capt. Don Searles (promoted in 1965) as one of the EFD’s first three African American captains. New firefighters hired in 1970 were Phil Schmidt, Ed Galloway, Johnny King, and John Munro.

The EFD battled two significant fires in apartment buildings in late 1970 / early 1971. The first one occurred in December 1970, at 1003 Hinman Avenue in southeast Evanston. This apartment building was one of many similar multi-family residential structures that were constructed in Evanston and Rogers Park during the North Shore’s so-called “million dollar a month building boom” of 1918-23. The fire started in one of the apartments on the first floor, and then communicated to the other units. All of the occupants were safely evacuated. The aggregate loss to the building and contents was estimated at $85,000.

The second fire occurred on a bitter cold day in January 1971, in a large wood frame rooming house occupied by Northwestern University students at 2010 Sherman Ave. Firemen spent more than an hour pulling ceiling and opening up walls, before being ordered to evacuate and take defensive positions after interior conditions  worsened. A call-back of off-duty personnel allowed fresh crews to relieve nearly-frozen ice-encrusted firefighters manning exterior hose lines. The exhausted men were then piled into EFD station wagons like cordwood to be transported back to Station # 1 to thaw out. The loss from this fire was estimated at $90,000.

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Evanston Fire Department history Part 67

Mar 25

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History | 2 Comments

From Phil Stenholm:

Another installment about History of Evanston Fire Department

 

GO YOU NORTHWESTERN! 

The Mutual-Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was established in 1968 to provide pre-planned mutual-aid responses to large fires involving north suburban fire departments and fire protection districts. The Evanston Fire Department was assigned to MABAS Division 3, along with the Glencoe, Glenview, Highland Park, Highwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northbrook, Northfield, Park Ridge, Skokie, Wilmette, and Winnetka fire departments, the Deerfield-Bannockburn, Glenview Rural, Northbrook Rural, and North Maine fire protection districts, and the Glenview Naval Air Station.

The Glenview FD was the designated MABAS Division 3 dispatch center, and Niles FD was the back-up. The mutual-aid fire channel known as NIFERN (Northern Illinois Fire Emergency Radio Network – 154.265 Mhz) was used by MABAS. In the event of a major fire, the stricken fire department would contact the MABAS dispatcher via NIFERN and advise the box number, the physical location of the incident, and the alarm level being requested. The MABAS dispatcher would then transmit the alarm over the NIFERN radio frequency. Units responding to the box alarm were responsible for switching to NIFERN and contacting the MABAS dispatcher, advising the dispatcher that they were en route. Because all companies responding to a MABAS box alarm were required to be staffed by at least four firefighters, only EFD Station # 1 or Station # 2 companies responded to MABAS box alarms.

Most of the fire departments in Division 3 had more than one box card, with a different response depending on the box number’s location. Evanston, however, had just one box card (# 625), with Lake & Elmwood (Fire Station # 1) listed as the location of the box. A Wilmette engine and a Skokie truck were due to respond into Evanston on a box alarm, with a Skokie engine due on a second alarm, and a Winnetka engine (changed to a Winnetka Snorkel in 1983) and a Morton Grove engine due on a third alarm. A Glenview Naval Air Station ARFF was also listed on the card in the event it was needed. Otherwise, anything beyond a third alarm would be a “special call.” Also, there was no “dive box,” no “ambulance box,” no “fire investigation box,” et al in 1968. MABAS existed strictly for large fires at that time.  

The EFD was not due to respond everywhere in MABAS Division 3, and where an Evanston engine, truck and/or squad was due to respond, the level of the alarm on which it was due varied based on the box number. In some cases, the Evanston company was just changing quarters to provide back-up coverage. An Evanston engine, truck, and squad were on the Morton Grove box card, an Evanston engine and truck were on Niles and Skokie cards, an Evanston engine was on the Glenview, Northbrook, North Maine, and Wilmette cards, an Evanston truck was on the Glencoe, Northfield, and Park Ridge cards, and an Evanston squad was on the Winnetka card. Although the Evanston Fire Department routinely responded to MABAS box alarms, the EFD almost never requested a MABAS box back in the day, even for a large fire. A call-back of off-duty firefighters was required before a chief could request a MABAS box, so when immediate mutual-aid was needed, EFD chiefs would just request assistance directly from Wilmette and/or Skokie.

The Evanston Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Bureau underwent several significant personnel changes in the years 1965-68. Long-time FPB inspector Capt. Harry Meginnis retired in 1965 after 23-years of service with the EFD, and 25-year veteran Assistant Chief Harry Schaeffer Jr – commander of the Fire Prevention Bureau – retired in 1967 after he was appointed Illinois State Fire Marshal by Illinois Gov. Otto Kerner,

FPB inspector Capt. Tom Hanson was promoted to assistant chief fire marshal and replaced Chief Schaeffer as commander of the FPB, but then Chief Hanson himself retired after twenty years of service in 1968 to take a high-paying job in the private sector. FPB inspector Capt. Robert Schumer was then promoted to assistant chief fire marshal and replaced Chief Hanson as FPB commander. Capt. William Lapworth and Capt. Joe Thill were transferred to the FPB in 1967-68, and they worked as FPB inspectors until they retired.

In addition to the changes in the FPB circa 1965-69, veteran firemen Nicholas Jung (24 years of service), George M. Harrison (23 years of service), and John Boho (22 years of service) retired in 1966, Capt. Ervin Lindeman retired after 31 years of service in 1967, firemen Stan Broslovik (22 years of service) and James Liozzo (20 years of service) retired in 1968, and Capt. Lou Peters retired after 27 years of service in 1969. Also, Capt. Richard Zrazik and Fireman Frank Sherry Jr retired on disability pensions, Capt. Zrazik in 1966, and firefighter Sherry in 1967.

Also, firemen Don Searles (1965), Joe Planos (1966), Bill Moore (1967), Henry Harloff and Pat Morrison (1968), and Tom Linkowski (1969) were promoted to captain during this period of time. New firemen hired were Vincent McEnaney (1965), Darold Olson, Ray Cottini, Jim McLaughlin, Nick Waldron, and Anthony Broz (1966), John Wright, Max Sheaffer, Pat Lynn, Albert Lesiak, William Beckley, and John Wilkinson (1967), Dave Franzen, Randy Drott, Michael Bunyon, and Jerry McDermott (1968), and John Graber, John Fisher, Neal Smithweck, and Robert Mulherin (1969).

It had been a sore spot in Evanston for many years that Northwestern University was tax exempt and therefore received fire protection from the city without paying for it. Then on November 18, 1968, Northwestern University unexpectedly donated the $29,602 needed to pay for a new Pirsch pumper for the Evanston Fire Department. It wasn’t totally altruistic, however, as the donation was a “thank you” from Northwestern after the Evanston City Council agreed to re-zone the square-block northeast of Emerson & Maple from single-family to high-rise / multi-family. This allowed N.U. to build the 10-story Engelhart residence hall for graduate students at 1915 Maple Avenue. It was the second-tallest building in Evanston after it was completed in 1971.

Since the pumper was donated by Northwestern University, one of the aldermen suggested that it should be painted either purple or white with purple stripes, with a “Willie the Wildcat” sticker on the doors, but that didn’t happen. it was presumed at the time of the donation that the new pumper would go into service at Fire Station # 3 since Engine 23 was first-due to the Northwestern University campus, with Engine 23’s 1958 Seagrave moving to Station # 5 to replace Engine 25’s 1952 Pirsch.

The new Pirsch pumper arrived in May 1970, and it was placed in service at Station # 2 — not at Station # 3, as had been expected. Engine 22 — the 1952 Pirsch 1000 / 100 TCP ex-S21 that had been rebuilt as a TCP in 1966 — relocated to Station # 5, where it became the new Engine 25. The 1952 Pirsch 1000 / 100 TCP that had been Engine 25 1952-70 was then placed into reserve at Station # 5 as Engine 27. The 1968 Pirsch (Engine 21) and the 1970 Pirsch (Engine 22) were nearly identical rigs, the primary difference being Engine 21 had a 1250-GPM pump, while Engine 22 had a 1000-GPM pump. 

Because the donation of the 1970 Pirsch pumper was unexpected and had not been part of the EFD’s master plan for apparatus replacement, the 1949 Seagrave 1000 / 80 TCP (Engine 26 – ex-E22) was no longer needed as a reserve pumper once the new Pirsch pumper arrived and the 1952 Pirsch pumper at Station # 5 was placed into reserve, and so it was sold at auction to a private collector for use as a parade and party vehicle. It was mainstay in the North Evanston Fourth of July Parade for many years.

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Evanston Fire Department history Part 66

Mar 18

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History | 2 Comments

From Phil Stenholm:

Another installment about History of Evanston Fire Department

 

THE CHANGING FACE OF DOWNTOWN EVANSTON

In 1962, the Evanston City Council and the Chamber of Commerce came to the unhappy realization that Evanston’s once-thriving downtown business district was dying a slow death. A master plan was developed to transition downtown Evanston from an upscale retail center to a banking, service, and hospitality mecca. The centerpiece of the plan was State Bank Plaza, a 22-story office building to be located on ground formerly home to Lord’s department store, the State National Bank, and Cooley’s Cupboard malt shop. Once erected, State Bank Plaza would be the tallest building between Chicago and Milwaukee.

With a 22-story high-rise under construction in the downtown “high-value district,” the city council appropriated funds in 1966 to purchase a 1250-GPM / 300 gallon triple-combination pumper and a 100-foot tractor-drawn aerial ladder truck. Peter Pirsch & Sons was awarded the contracts for both rigs, with the TCP costing $24,690 and the TDA costing $60,000. The initial plan was for the 1951 Pirsch 85-foot TDA (Truck 21 since 1951) to be moved from Station # 1 to Station # 3 once the new 100-foot TDA was placed into service as the new Truck 21, allowing the EFD to once again run three truck companies, as had been the case 1955-62. Also, new tractors were to be purchased for the 1951 and 1952 Pirsch TDAs.

Placing the third truck into service would have required transferring the fourth man assigned each shift to Truck Co. 21 and Squad 21 and the chief’s driver / administrative assistant to the third truck, leaving all nine companies – five engines, three trucks, and Squad 21 — staffed by three men each shift (plus the platoon commander), with three additional men assigned to each shift who would cover for absences due to vacation, illness, or injury incurred on duty. Like Evanston Police Chief Bert Giddens, EFD Chief Lester Breitzman would get a “take home” car, and a civilian secretary would be hired to be the chief’s new administrative assistant.

The new Pirsch 1250 / 300 TCP arrived in February 1968 and was placed into service at that time as the new Engine 21, with the former Engine 21 (1952 Pirsch 1000 / 80 TCP) becoming a reserve engine (Engine 28) at  Station # 4. The new Engine 21 was baptized under fire the day it was placed into service, at an extra-alarm fire in the service department of the Holiday Lincoln-Mercury automobile dealership at 535 Chicago Avenue. The service department was gutted before the flames were extinguished. The estimated loss from this fire was $160,000.
On April 5, 1968, Engine Co. 24 along with the fourth men from Squad 21 and Truck 21 responded as a five-man crew on an unusual mutual-aid assignment. The west side of Chicago was in flames in the aftermath of the assassination of Dr, Martin Luther King Jr the night before in Memphis, and most of the Chicago Fire Department was engaged in fighting the fires. As a result, a number of suburban fire departments were requested to staff empty CFD firehouses in the outlying battalions,

EFD Engine 24 was assigned to CFD Engine Co. 70 at 1545 W. Rosemont Avenue in the 27th Battalion. Engine 24 was at Engine 70 for about 12 hours, before returning to Evanston. This was the second time an EFD engine company had been sent to a CFD firehouse, the first time being in May 1934 when Engine Co. 1 temporarily moved into Engine Co. 71’s quarters at 6239 N. California Avenue during the Union Stockyards conflagration.

 
Several months later, Engine 24 sustained extensive front-end damage in a traffic collision, and was sent to the Seagrave factory body shop in Clintonville, Wisconsin. After repairs were completed, Engine 24 was driven the 200 miles back to Evanston rather being shipped via flatbed trailer, as probably would have been the case if Seagrave was still based in Ohio. Because the pumper was being driven back to Evanston, Seagrave placed a canvas canopy over the open cab to protect the driver from the weather.

Once Engine 24 arrived in Evanston and was placed back into service at Station # 4, firefighters assigned to  the company found out they really liked the canvas canopy, so it would remain on Engine 24 going forward. Also, as a result of the repairs, the pumper now sported dual front headlights, replacing the single-beam headlights that were originally on the rig. At least as far as cosmetic appearance goes, the EFD’s two 1958 Seagrave pumpers (Engine 23 and Engine 24) were no longer “twins.”

The new Pirsch Senior 100-foot TDA arrived in time for Christmas 1968, but it was not placed into service for several weeks because firefighters needed time to become familiar with the new truck, and the brutal winter weather postponed some of the testing and training that was required before the truck could be formally  accepted by the city. The new Truck 21 was finally placed into service in February 1969.

The former Truck 21 temporarily replaced Truck 22 at Station # 2, because the city council redirected the $20,000 that would have been spent on two new tractors to an extensive “modernization” of Truck 22. The modernization of Truck 22 was a special deal offered by Pirsch, and it involved gutting the inside of the 1952 tractor and replacing just about everything, including the engine, transmission, axles, wheels, drive-train, electrical system, even new fenders with dual front headlights. The trailer also was extensively refurbished, with a new aerial-ladder control box, a new tiller system, and cabinets to provide water-tight storage space for equipment. It also received a new paint job. Pirsch called it “good as new, for half the price.” 

Once the modernization / refurbishment of Truck 22 was completed, the former Truck 21 that had been running temporarily as Truck 22 was transferred to Station # 3 and became the EFD’s reserve truck. As a result, there would be no third truck company. Truck 21 and Squad 21 would continue to run as four-man companies each shift, and one fireman each shift would serve as Chief Breitzman’s driver and administrative assistant.  

Both the 1937 Seagrave 65-foot aerial truck (Truck 23) and the 1937 Seagrave 750 / 80 TCP (Engine 27) were removed from the fleet in 1969. This left the EFD with two reserve pumpers  – the 1949 Seagrave 1000 / 80 TCP (Engine 26) at Station # 5 and the 1952 Pirsch 1000 / 80 TCP (Engine 28) at Station # 4 – and the reserve 1951 Pirsch 85-foot TDA (Truck 23) at Station # 3. As of 1969, all pumpers including the two reserve engines had a minimum 1000-GPM pump, all trucks had a minimum 85-foot aerial ladder, the oldest front-line rig was 17 years old, and no reserve rig was more than twenty years old. 

 

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Evanston Fire Department history Part 65

Mar 11

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History | 1 Comment

From Phil Stenholm:

Another installment about History of Evanston Fire Department

 

THE GARBAGE TRUCK


Chief Lester Breitzman and the platoon commanders were equipped with Motorola HT-200 portable two-way radios in 1965. Because he now had a hand-held radio he could carry around the fireground, It was decided that the platoon commander no longer needed a driver / radio operator, so the firemen formerly assigned to drive F-2 were transferred to Squad 21, and became the squad’s fourth man each shift. When transmitting via handie-talkie, the chief used the radio call-sign “F-1-X,” and the platoon commander was “F-2-X.” Company officers were also eventually assigned handie-talkies, and were identified as “Engine 23-X,” “Squad 21-X,” “Truck 22-X,” etc, when operating on a portable radio.

Wayne Anderson became Evanston’s new city manager in 1963, and with Squad 21 back in front-line service and responding with four men to all fire calls, Bert Johnson’s Police-Fire Cooperative Plan was quietly phased out in 1965. However, the three police station-wagon patrol-ambulances remained in service and continued to respond to inhalator calls and ambulance runs, and while police officers were no longer expected to work as firefighters (except in extraordinary circumstances), police recruits did receive some training in basic firefighting.

The EFD added three new station wagons to the fleet in the years 1964-66, including a 1964 Plymouth station wagon (the new F-3) that was assigned to a Fire Prevention Bureau inspector during business hours and garaged at Fire Station # 5 at night and on weekends and holidays, a 1965 Dodge station wagon (F-5)  assigned to the Training Officer at Station # 1, and a 1966 Ford station wagon (the new F-1) assigned to Chief Breitzman at Station # 2. All three of the station wagons were equipped with stretchers and first-aid kits and served as auxiliary ambulances, backing-up the three police station wagon patrol ambulances.

F-2 (the platoon commander’s 1963 Plymouth station wagon) no longer served as an auxiliary ambulance after the platoon commander’s driver was transferred to Squad 21 in 1965, but F-1 always had a driver, and (if in quarters) F-3 was staffed by Engine 25 personnel and F-5 was manned by the fourth man from Squad 21 or Truck 21 when needed. In addition, Squad 21 and station wagons F-1 and F-3 were equipped with a wooden back-board known in EFD parlance as a “fracture board,” and so Squad 21, F-1, or F-3 would be dispatched to any incident involving a significant back or neck injury.

Reserve Engine 26 (ex-E2 – 1927 Seagrave Standard 1000 / 50 TCP) – the EFD’s oldest rig – was taken out of service in 1965, and was converted to playground equipment by EFD mechanics. The conversion involved removing the engine, pump, transmission, drive-train, etc, and then welding everything shut, with sheet metal covering the under-carriage. Once the job was completed, the vintage pumper was installed in the middle of brand new Firemen’s Park at the southwest corner of Simpson & Maple. The previous spring, the EFD had used a vacant former church located on the site for ”live burn” practice drills.

In 1964, EFD Chief Breitzman requested that the city purchase a new “more useful” squad rig, and convert the existing 1952 Pirsch squad to a triple-combination pumper by replacing the squad body with a standard pumper body. The Pirsch squad had been in & out of front-line service over the course of its twelve years of service, and so it had relatively low mileage compared to the other 1952 Pirsch pumpers. Also, it had no hose bed, so the 1000 GPM pump had rarely been used and was in virtually pristine condition. Once converted to a TCP, the Pirsch rig would go into service as the new Engine 22.

The new squad would be equipped with an electric winch on the front bumper capable of pulling 18,000 pounds, a reconditioned auxiliary pump, a 300-gallon water tank, new extrication tools, and a top-mounted deluge nozzle salvaged from the recently decommissioned high pressure / hose truck. Modern precision quartz lights would replace the military-style “night sun” searchlights that were on the Pirsch squad. Most importantly, the new squad would have a hose bed with room for two 250-foot leads of 1-1/2 inch hose pre-connected to two rear discharge ports that could be used for a rapid fire attack.

A new factory-built Pirsch pumper-squad purchased by Skokie in 1965 cost $25,000, so City Manager Anderson was looking for a “creative” (cheaper) alternative. The City of Evanston purchased four new garbage trucks in 1965 — International-Harvester R-190 cab & chassis with a Leach Packmaster body — giving Anderson the idea to add an additional cab & chassis to the garbage truck order, purchase a custom-built squad body, a winch, an auxiliary pump, a water tank, and a quartz lighting system separately, and then have EFD mechanics piece it all together in the repair shop at Station # 1.

The city council thought it was a swell plan, and appropriated $13,000 for the project. The International cab & chassis ended up costing $4,474, the auxiliary pump, tank, plumbing, quartz lights, and fabrication and installation of the squad body combined cost $4,974, and the Braden winch cost $725. The pumper body for the 1952 Pirsch squad cost $4,000. EFD mechanics were able to install the winch, pump, tank, and plumbing on the new squad without difficulty, but the squad body was fabricated and installed by the General Body Co.

Located at 5838 N. Pulaski Road in Chicago, General Body was best-known for fabricating the world-famous Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, but GBC also built many other unusual commercial vehicles, including the Autocar squads used by the Chicago Fire Department, and the salvage trucks used by the Chicago Fire Insurance Patrol. GBC had previously built a squad for the Niles Fire Department by combining a commercial (GMC) cab & chassis with one of its own fabricated squad bodies, and the body on the Niles squad was the one Evanston wanted GBC to duplicate (albeit with a few modifications).

Fabrication and installation was completed by GBC within four months, and the new Squad 21 went into service in April 1966. Although it was sometimes called the “garbage truck” (for obvious reasons), and firefighters riding on the tailboard were sometimes called “garbagemen,” Squad 21 was the busiest company in the Evanston Fire Department — the SS-1 of the EFD — responding to inhalator calls, minor fires, and miscellaneous details in Station # 1’s district, as well as to all fires and rescue-extrication calls city-wide. The crew assigned to Squad 21 also manned the DUKW amphibious vehicle (F-7) whenever it was needed.
    
Converted to a 1000 / 100 TCP, the former Squad 21 went back into service as the new Engine 22 in August 1966, replacing the 1949 Seagrave 1000 / 80 TCP, which was then placed into reserve at Station # 5 as Engine 26. The Pirsch pumper’s hose-bed featured two 250-foot leads of 1-1/2 inch hose pre-connected to the two rear discharge ports, as well as 1,500 feet of 2-1/2 inch hose and 300 feet of three-inch hose. A section of soft-sleeve suction hose was pre-connected to an intake port above the rear step. It was the first EFD pumper to not carry lengths of hard suction hose.

Both the new Squad 21 and Engine 22 featured the EFD repair shop’s generic military style graphics of the day (black tape with “EVANSTON” in gold) affixed to the sides of the hoods, the same style of graphics that were applied to EFD station wagons and the DUKW 1964-1971. Squad 21 and Engine 22 also had custom designed gold shields with black lettering affixed on the cab doors, replaced by black shields with gold lettering in 1970. Also, the Mars FL-8 and DX-40 (“football”) warning lights on the older front-line engines and trucks were replaced with the more-visible white / red beacon-type emergency lights at about this same time.

Reserve Engine 28 (ex-E24 – 1937 Seagrave 750 / 80 TCP) at Station # 4 did not pass its annual pump test in 1966, and the other reserve 1937 Seagrave 750 / 80 TCP (Engine 27 at Station # 3) had a blown engine, so once the rebuilt Pirsch TCP went into service at Station # 2 and the 1949 Seagrave pumper was placed into reserve at Station # 5, EFD mechanics transplanted the motor from Engine 28 into Engine 27 to keep it running for a while longer. Engine 28 was then dismantled for spare parts and scrapped. 
 

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Evanston Fire Department history Part 64

Mar 4

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History | Comments off

From Phil Stenholm:

Another installment about History of Evanston Fire Department

 

LOOKS LIKE A DUCK, SWIMS LIKE A DUCK, QUACKS LIKE A DUCK…

A 27-year veteran of the Evanston Fire Department and one of only four men hired by the EFD during the height of the Great Depression 1932-39, 49-year old Assistant Chief Lester Breitzman was appointed chief fire marshal on February 10, 1964, following the retirement of Chief James Geishecker. While Chief Henry Dorband’s primary interest was operations and modernization and Chief James Geishecker’s passion was training, Chief Breitzman’s main emphasis was fire prevention.

Capt. Harry Schaeffer Jr was promoted to assistant chief and replaced Chief Breitzman as commander of the Fire Prevention Bureau, and firemen George Strom, Sanders “Sam” Hicks, Len Driskell, Joe Thill and Len Conrad were promoted to captain and assigned as company officers, replacing the five EFD officers who retired after the American Hospital Supply Corporation fire. A future chief of the Evanston Fire Department, Capt. Hicks was the EFD’s first African-American captain.

New firemen hired in the aftermath of the AHSC fire were Michael Lass, Robert Becker, John “Skip” Hrejsa, Roger Pettinger, Tom Fisherkeller, Tony Howson, John Kloiber, Jim Marti, and Jim McIntyre. Michael Lass would later serve as president of IAFF Local 742, and during the early 1970’s, Local 742 grew increasingly militant under Lass’s dynamic leadership. He was promoted to captain in December 1970 with a promising future as an officer in the fire service, but his real talent was union operative. Lass resigned from the EFD in 1971 less than a year after he was promoted to captain, to take a full-time job as IAFF Illinois field representative.

Squad 22 (ex-T1 1924 Seagrave tractor high-pressure turret / hose truck with pumper body salvaged from ex-E4 1917 / 1930 Seagrave Suburbanite pumper in 1953) was taken out of service following the American Hospital Supply Corporation fire, and was dismantled and scrapped in 1964. The 1,750 feet of three-inch “fireboat  hose” carried aboard the high-pressure wagon was redistributed to the five front-line pumpers, with 500 feet going to Engine 21. While Squad 21 was equipped with two portable turret monitors that could be set-up at a fire, the EFD no longer had a mounted high pressure deluge nozzle in service once Squad 22 was removed from the fleet.

In 1964, the Evanston Fire Department took possession of a U.S. government surplus WWII-era GMC 6 x 6 DUKW amphibious vehicle from the U. S. Office of Civil Defense. Painted yellow and with a radio call-sign of ”F-7,” the DUKW was housed at Fire Station # 1, and responded on what was known as a “duck call” – an emergency or other less-urgent request for assistance on Lake Michigan — during boating season 1964-74. The DUKW was equipped with a heavy duty winch used for towing disabled boats, life jackets and life preservers, an inhalator, two stokes baskets, hundreds of feet of rope, grappling hooks, body bags, fire extinguishers, axes, and other useful firefighting and rescue gear. It was manned by Squad 21 when needed.

Two major fires occurred in April 1965, the first being an explosion and fire at the Kozlow Brothers Radiator Repair Service garage at 125 Chicago Avenue, and the second one just a few days later at the Dickson Weatherproof Nail Company plant at 1900 Greenwood Street. The two fires were not related.

Three workers were injured by the explosion at the Kozlow garage, and were transported to St. Francis Hospital and Evanston Hospital via Evanston police ambulances. Engine 22, Truck 22, Engine 24, Squad 21, and F-2 were on the scene within five minutes, and the fight went defensive right from the get-go. Engine 22 took the hydrant across the street and led out two 2-1/2 inch lines manned by personnel from Engine 22 and Squad 21, and Engine 24 backed-up Chicago Avenue from Howard Street and dropped a load of 2-1/2 inch hose as well as three-inch hose line, before grabbing the hydrant at the northwest corner of Howard & Chicago and supplying water for Truck 22’s elevated master stream, plus another 2-1/2 inch hand line.

F-2 immediately ordered a second alarm upon arrival, with Engine Co. 21 assigned to take the hydrant on the west side of Chicago Avenue north of the gas station, and lead-out two three-inch lines to supply water for Squad 21’s monitor operating on the north side of the fire. Engine 23 and Truck 21 were assigned to cover exposures to the east, behind the stores and apartments located on the north side of Howard Street west of the Howard CTA station. Engine 25 changed quarters to Station # 1, and one off-duty platoon was called-in to man the reserve engines and the reserve truck.

Companies from the Chicago Fire Department’s 27th Battalion had responded on a still alarm for a report of an explosion at Howard & Clark and arrived at the same time as companies from EFD Station # 2, and although they did not go to work, the chief, an engine company, and a truck company from the CFD kept an eye on the eastern exposures (including the Howard Street CTA station) until the arrival of Engine 23 and Truck 21. The EFD successfully surrounded and drowned the ruins without any extension to nearby structures. The loss from the explosion and fire was estimated at $93,000.

The Dickson Weatherproof Nail Company was located at the southwest corner of Greenwood & Dodge, on the east side of the C&NW RR Mayfair Division freight tracks. Engine 24 was first on scene and reported smoke showing. Companies from Station # 1 arrived about 30 seconds later, with Engine 24 and Engine 21 leading out and taking hydrants, while Truck 21 laddered the roof and Squad 21 began salvage work.

With the American Hospital Supply Corporation conflagration still a fresh memory, F-2 ordered a second alarm, bringing Engine 22, Truck 22, and Engine 25 to the scene. The two truck companies ventilated the roof and then performed salvage work with Squad 21, while the four engine companies attacked the seat of the blaze. Engine 23 transferred (changed quarters) to Station # 1, and one off-duty platoon was called-in to man the reserve engines and the reserve truck. Loss from the fire was estimated at $100,000.

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Evanston Fire Department history Part 63

Feb 27

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History | 7 Comments

From Phil Stenholm:

Another installment about History of Evanston Fire Department

 

SLAN LEAT 

Assistant Chief Michael Garrity retired in 1962 at the age of 70 after 44 years of service with the Evanston Fire Department. Chief Garrity joined the EFD in 1918 after emigrating from Ireland, and was promoted to lieutenant in 1927, to captain in 1934, and to assistant chief in 1951. Along with Henry Dorband and Jim Geishecker, Chief Garrity helped guide the EFD through the 1950’s, after the retirements of long-time platoon commanders Tom McEnery and Carl Windelborn, and the deaths of Chief Albert Hofstetter and Assistant Chief J. E. Mersch. His Irish brogue was a signature voice on the EFD’s radio channel.

Capt Herb Claussen (35 years of service) and Capt, Roy Decker (20 years of service) also retired in 1962, Capt. George Beattie (a future chief) was promoted to assistant chief and replaced Michael Garrity as a platoon commander, and firemen Ed Majkowski, Richard Zrazik, and Robert Schumer were promoted to captain. New firemen hired in 1962 were Tom Linkowski, Raymond James, David Johnson, and James Mersch Jr. Both Linkowski and Mersch would eventually retire as division chiefs.

A fire gutted second and third floor apartments above the Maple Market grocery store at 1936 Maple Avenue in June 1963, resulting in $70,000 damage. The fire started on a rear porch and communicated to apartments on the second and third floors. The grocery store sustained extensive water damage, but Evanston firefighters were able to check the fire before it could communicate to residences to the west and businesses to the north. Several firefighters were overcome by heat while battling this blaze.

Capt. William Windelborn retired in April 1963, Fire Equipment Mechanic “Marvelous Marv” Hofstetter retired in July, and Fireman Ed Downey retired in August. The trio were among several men in their 30’s who were hired during WWII to replace younger members of the EFD serving in the military, and despite getting a late start, they each had a solid 20-year career as a firefighter. Fireman LeRoy Dullin was promoted to captain and replaced Capt. Windelborn as a company officer, and Fireman Ernie Bongratz replaced Marvin Hofstetter as a fire equipment mechanic. New firemen hired were James Drohan, John Bjorvik, Victor LaPorte, and Leo Ranachowski.

At about 5:00 PM on the afternoon of October 7, 1963, the Evanston Fire Department received a report of a fire at the American Hospital Supply Corporation plant at 2020 Ridge Avenue. Engine Co. 23, Engine Co. 21, Truck Co. 21, and Squad 21 responded, and what was initially a small fire on the loading dock spread quickly to the interior of the warehouse. F-2 immediately called for a second alarm, and Engine Co. 25 and Engine Co. 22 responded, with Engine Co. 24 and Truck Co. 22 transferring (changing quarters) to Station #1. Chief Geishecker (F-1) arrived and ordered a full “Code 10” (a call-back of all off-duty firefighters).

Engine 23 and Squad 21 pulled up to the loading dock and attacked the fire with two 1-1/2 inch pre-connects off Engine 23, while Engine 21 and Truck 21 parked on Ridge Avenue and entered the structure through a door on the east side pf the building, with Engine 21’s crew pulling a hand line through the door. Engine 25 and Engine 22 arrived within five minutes, with Engine 25 dropping two loads of 2-1/2-inch hose westbound down Leon Place, before grabbing the hydrant on the north side of the street across from the loading dock. Engine 25 then supplied Engine 23 with one of the 2-1/2-inch lines, and manned the other one.

Engine 22 backed-down Ridge Avenue from Foster Street, and laid two 2-1/2 inch lines, before taking the hydrant at the corner of Ridge and Foster. One of Engine 22’s 2-1/2 inch lines supplied water for Engine 21, and the other was manned as a hand-line by Engine 22’s crew. Truck 21’s aerial ladder was extended to the roof and the company initiated vertical ventilation to release the heat and smoke that had migrated to the second floor. Cross-trained Evanston police officers assisted on the fireground. While firefighters attacked the blaze, employees of the company carried out boxes and file cabinets full of valuable documents, placing them in the AHSC parking lot at Ridge & Leon, under police guard.

Chief Geishecker requested mutual aid from Wilmette and Skokie – the first time a fire department other than Chicago’s was requested to assist the EFD since 1906 — to provide coverage at Station # 1, which would allow Engine 24 and Truck 22 to respond to the fire. Other than the men assigned to liaison with the Skokie and Wilmette units at Station # 1, just about the entire EFD — including several men who were on vacation — were summoned to fight the conflagration.

Reserve Truck 23 (1937 Seagrave 65-foot aerial ladder truck) was manned by off-duty personnel at Station # 3 and was ordered to the fire, to provide truck tools and salvage covers for the dozens of off-duty firemen arriving on scene. Reserve Engine 27 (1937 Seagrave pumper – ex-E23) was manned at Station # 3 and responded to the fire, Engine 28 (1937 Seagrave pumper – ex-E24) was staffed by off-duty personnel from Station # 4, off-duty men arriving at Station # 5 manned Engine 26 (1927 Seagrave pumper – ex-E2), and some of the off-duty men arriving at Station # 1 responded to the fire aboard Squad 22 (1924 Seagrave high-pressure / hose truck – ex-T1 tractor). Off-duty men arriving at fire stations after the reserve rigs departed were transported to the fire via CD pick-up truck or FPB station-wagon (F-3).

The EFD took a beating battling the fire on the first floor, but the employees finally finished removing company documents, and firefighters thought they  might have it knocked-down. However, as firemen began to overhaul and do some salvage work, the fire unexpectedly re-appeared on the second floor, eventually charging the entire building with heavy smoke. With a concern that hazardous chemicals stored in the plant might explode, Chief Geishecker ordered firefighters out of the building. 

As the fight went defensive, Engine 24 backed-down Ridge Avenue from the south, leading-out lines used to supply Truck 21’s elevated master stream now set-up on the east side, before grabbing the hydrant at Ridge & Garnett. Truck 22 extended its aerial ladder on the west side to further ventilate the roof before deploying an elevated master stream from that location, as hand lines used when operating inside the plant were replaced with larger diameter hose lines and Squad 21’s portable monitors on the exterior.  

As the situation deteriorated, a firefighter was ordered to move Squad 22 to a position on the west side of the plant, where the rig’s powerful deluge turret would be set-up at the loading dock. The high pressure wagon’s three-inch “fireboat hose” would be connected to Engine 27, which was being set-up to pump from the hydrant at Ridge & Simpson. Leon Place was an old brick street at that time, and as Squad 22 came rumblin’ and backfirin’ down the hill from Ridge Avenue, it appeared that the brakes may have gone out, because the driver couldn’t stop the rig before it ran over a charged hose line, causing it to burst and sending a geyser 30 feet into the air.

A chief came running up to the man who was driving the rig and started yelling at him, which made it even more of a clown show for the hundreds of spectators standing nearby. It was like watching a Laurel & Hardy movie. By the time another supply-line could be led-out and connected, the fire had gained more headway, and the plant was lost. The high-pressure wagon was parked off to the side for the balance of the fire, and was later towed back to Station # 1. The $1.9 million in damage would stand for more than twenty years as the highest property loss from a fire in Evanston’s history. 

Several firemen sustained career-ending injuries while battling the blaze. Chief Jim Geishecker suffered a disabling stroke, went on extended medical leave, and then officially retired when he turned 70 in February 1964, after 43 years of service with the EFD. Capt. George Jasper (27 years of service), Capt. Hjalmar Okerwall (21 years of service), and Fireman Arnold Windle (20 years of service) retired immediately after the fire. Capt. Ronald Ford (38 years of service) retired a few months later, and Capt. Harold Dorband and Fireman John Steinbuck were unable to return to active duty and took disability pensions in 1964.

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Evanston Fire Department history Part 62

Feb 19

Posted by Admin in Fire Department History | Comments off

From Phil Stenholm:

Another installment about History of Evanston Fire Department

 

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT 

In 1962, news broke that a high-rise office building to be called “State Bank Plaza” was to be constructed in downtown Evanston. In response to the news, Chief Geishecker requested the city purchase a 100-foot aerial ladder truck for Station # 1, with the 1951 Pirsch TDA at Station # 1 to be moved to Station # 3, where it would replace the 25-year old 1937 Seagrave 65-foot ladder truck that was considered no longer fit for front-line service.

Truck Co. 23 was averaging only about two runs per week, so the city manager did not concur with Chief Geishecker’s recommendation, and thus the city council did not appropriate funds for a new TDA. Chief Geishecker then had a choice. He could transfer Truck Co. 21’s manpower to Squad 21 and move its 1951 Pirsch 85-foot TDA to Station #3 to run as Truck 23, or he could take Truck 23 out of front-line service and transfer its manpower to Squad 21.

Transferring Truck Co. 21’s manpower to Squad 21 and moving its 1951 Pirsch TDA to Station # 3 would have kept Truck Co. 23 in service, maintained the same shift staffing at Station # 1, and kept a truck company within 2-1/2 miles of all insured structures in the city, but it also would have meant no aerial ladder truck located within the downtown “high value district.” Downtown is where Evanston’s primary tax base was located in 1962, and where substantial fire insurance premiums were being paid. Businesses were already beginning to flee downtown Evanston and head to Old Orchard in Skokie, so keeping the remaining merchants happy was a priority of the city manager and city council.

Even having two truck companies (Truck 22 and Truck 23) within 1-1/4 miles of Fountain Square was not considered sufficient ladder company coverage for the downtown “high-value district” by the NBFU standards of the day. In fact, in its 1959 report following an inspection of the EFD, the NBFU had recommended adding an additional engine company at Station # 1 to replace Engine Co. 25 (relocated to the new Station # 5 in 1955). Placing Squad 21 back into service as a company at Station # 1 would add three additional men to Station # 1 each shift, as well as increasing by three the number of firefighters responding to all general alarms (fire calls), since the squad would respond to all fire calls city-wide.

Therefore, Chief Geishecker ordered Truck 23 to be taken out of front-line service effective January 1, 1963, with the truck’s manpower to be transferred to Squad 21 at Station # 1. Truck 23 (the 1937 Seagrave 65-foot aerial truck) became the EFD’s reserve truck at this time. The only negative with this move was that the closest truck company to Willard School and the Presbyterian Retirement Home in northwest Evanston would now be three miles away, and nearly four miles from the “High Ridge” area in the far northwest corner of the city.

Squad 21 had previously been in front-line service from April 1, 1955 to April 1, 1957, during which time it was the busiest company in the EFD. It had been taken out of front-line service in 1957 only because of shift staffing cuts stemming from implementation of the three-platoon schedule, and because staffing a third truck company was considered to be a higher priority at that time. Therefore, Squad 21 was kept in ready-reserve 1957-62, with very few runs each year. It was manned by Engine Co. 21 for inhalator calls (about 100 per year) up until inhalators were placed aboard all five front-line engines in 1959, and if needed, it could be driven to a fire by the fire equipment mechanic.  

Other than significantly increasing truck company response times to northwest Evanston, replacing Truck Co. 23 \with Squad 21 worked out very well for the EFD. After it was placed back into front-line service, Squad 21 once again became the EFD’s busiest company. Besides responding to all fire calls city-wide as a rescue & manpower company, the squad also responded to inhalator calls, minor fires, and miscellaneous details in Station # 1’s district, which kept Engine 21 available for structure fires.

While it was equipped with a 1000-GPM pump and a 100-gallon water tank, Squad 21 did not have a hose bed and so it did not carry a standard hose load. The squad did carry two 50-foot lengths of 1-1/2 inch hose (“donuts”) in one of its compartments, which could be rolled-out and connected to a side discharge port, but it was usually just faster and easier to lead-out the booster line (“red line”) if the squad was dispatched to a gas wash, vehicle fire, or trash fire, or if it arrived at a working structure fire prior to an engine company.

While Squad 21 carried just the two 50-foot lengths of 1-1/2 inch hose, Engine 21 carried 300 feet, and Engine 22 and Engine 25 each carried 250-feet. Engine 23 and Engine 24 (the two 1958 Seagrave pumpers) each carried 650-feet of 1-1/2 inch line, including two separate leads pre-connected to rear discharge ports. Engine 21 carried 1,800 feet of 2-1/2 inch line and the other four front-line engines each carried 1,500 feet. Because it was the first-due engine to the downtown “high-value district,” Engine 21 carried 1-1/2 inch and 2-1/2 inch “hotel loads.”

Engine 21, Engine 22, and Engine 25 had a lead of soft-sleeve suction hose in a tray on the right-rear step that was pre-connected to a rear intake port, and Engine 23 and Engine 24 had a lead of soft-sleeve suction hose on the front bumper that was pre-connected to a front intake port. A couple of additional leads of soft-sleeve suction hose were carried aboard each engine, but those leads were not pre-connected. All five front-line engines carried two sections of very rarely used hard suction hose.

Squad 22 (the high-pressure / hose truck) carried 1,750 feet of three-inch “fireboat” hose, and the ladder trucks each carried two 50-foot lengths of three-inch hose that could be rolled out and used to supply an elevated master stream. Although they were not in front-line service, the three reserve engines each carried a full hose load (250-feet of 1-1/2 inch hose and 1,500 feet of 2-1/2 inch hose), plus three sections of hard suction hose and two leads of soft-sleeve suction hose. Engine 21, Engine 22, Engine 25, Squad 21, Truck 23, and the three reserve engines were equipped with one-inch rubber booster line (“red line”) on a hose reel.

There was an additional 700 feet of 1-1/2 inch hose kept at Station # 1, an additional 250-feet at both Station # 2 and Station # 5, and an additional 650-feet at both Station # 3 and Station # 4. Also, an additional 1,500 feet of 2-1/2 inch hose was kept at each station, with all hose rotated on a regular basis.
 

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