Mar 30
The Bensenville Fire Department has placed an order for a new engine from Toyne on a Spartan Metro Star chassis. The engine will have a 1,500-GPM pump, a 750-gallon water tank, and a 30-gallon foam tank. Delivery is expected in the fourth quarter of this year.
When the new engine goes into service as engine 87, Engine 86, the 1994 Pierce Arrow will be assigned to their fire academy.
Taking advantage of a sunny day last week, Larry Shapiro stopped by Evanston Station 23 and was able to get some images for the website that were missing. The apparatus shots that were added to Station 23 include Engine 23, the 2010 Pierce Arrow XT; Ambulance 23, a 1999 Freightliner/Wheeled Coach Type I; and R-21, the 1990/1998 Pierce Arrow 105-foot rear mount aerial which is Evanston’s spare truck. The truck was reportedly purchased by the local and donated to the department for use as a spare. Bill Friedrich tells us that it was formerly owned by San Antonio, TX.
The Winnetka Fire Department in MABAS Division 3 has placed their new quint into service which ushers in a new look for the department. The 2010 Smeal was delivered with a black roof and the department designed a new door seal. The design is a maltese cross in gold and black which incorporates both the Winnetka and Kenilworth names. Engine 28, the 2000 Pierce Saber received a black top, the new decal, and new striping. Ambulance 28 also has the new decal and striping. As of now, Engine 28R and Ambulance 28R both have the original look and the previous door decal.
Winnetka recently disposed of this 1990 Pierce Arrow 75' quint. Larry Shapiro photo
This is how Truck 28 looked when it was retired. It had their most recent door seal and two-tone striping.
Winnetka Truck 28 had a 1,250-GPM pump and carried 300 gallons of water. Larry Shapiro photo
When Winnetka received Truck 28 in 1990, the original graphics were much simpler and the door seal featured the sun rising on at the lake.
Winnetka ran this American LaFrance 900-Series mid-mount aerial prior to receiving the Pierce in 1990. Larry Shapiro photo
Before Winnetka changed their numbering to Station 28 as part of MABAS Division 3, their rigs carried unit numbers in the ’70s’. Truck 70, shown here, preceded Truck 28 as one of Winnetka’s two aerial devices. They also had a 55-foot Snorkel in the house.
Winnetka Engine 28 now sports a black roof plus a triple stripe with the new door seal.
Engine 28 formerly had a white roof and blue door seal. Larry Shapiro photo
The previous design for Engine 28 had lettering on the rear door listing both Winnetka and Kenilworth. These names were included in the new door seal leaving more room for a nice graphic showing the unit number.
Engine 28 as it was delivered from Pierce in 2000. Larry Shapiro photo
When Engine 28 was purchased, it had the rising sun door decal matching the truck shown above.
The new Pierce tower ladder for Tower 15 in Lincolnwood is being outfitted to go into service with a target date of April 1. As mentioned in several previous comments, the Lincolnwood house is currently overflowing with apparatus. One of the three ambulances has been relegated to sit outside and Engine 15R is being stored at the public works facility while the new Tower 15 and the current Truck 15 consume space in the apparatus bays. The disposition of the 1989 Pierce Arrow 105′ rear mount is unclear.
Larry Shapiro stopped by Lincolnwood on Saturday and took photos of the new tower ladder.
Lincolnwood Tower 15 is a 2011 Pierce Arrow XT 100' tower ladder with a 2,000-GPM pump and a 300-gallon water tank. There is also a foam tank, the capacity of which is not known. This unit carries Pierce job# 23700. Larry Shapiro photo
Truck 15 presumably worked its last fire on the 14th of February at a 2-11 in Lincolnwood.
Lincolnwood Truck 15 was put to work on February 14, 2011 at a 2-11 Alarm fire on St. Louis. Larry Shapiro photo
The Fox River & Countryside Fire Rescue District is building a new fire department from the ground up. As such, they are buying new apparatus to fill their two new stations. Bill Friedrich has submitted the following information that he received about the new rigs that are on order to get this department up and running.
They have ordered one pumper from Alexis on International crew cab chassis, which will have a 1,250-GPM pump and 1,000 gallons of water tank. Also on order are two tankers featuring International chassis with standard two-door cabs that will have 1,000-GPM pumps and 2,000-gallon tanks. The new apparatus fleet will be all white.
On the Alexis website, there are in-progress images of the units being built which can be viewed HERE. The images are labeled ‘FoxRiv’.
Two Medtec ambulances are also on order; a Type I on a F-450 chassis and a Type III on an E-350 chassis.
This decommissioned 1993, Seagrave engine from Bartlett carrying serial number 78589, was purchased by the Fox River & Countryside Fire Rescue District. It has a 1,000-GPM pump and carries 750 gallons of water. Larry Shapiro photo
The fire district has purchased a used 1993 Seagrave engine from Bartlett. This is currently black over red and will reportedly be repainted white. They have also purchased a small used squad on a Ford chassis which is being refurbished by Alexis. The squad body on the Alexis site is all diamond plate.
Engine 1042 from the Lakewood Fire Department, (X-Arlington Heights Fire Department), which is owned by American Emergency Services, might become part of the Fox River & Countryside Fire Rescue District. Larry Shapiro photo
There is a possibility that E-1042 (X-Arlington Heights Pierce) from Lakewood might become part of the new fleet as well.
MABAS Divisions 19 & 22 are sharing a new haz mat unit. Mentioned in a previous post HERE, Braidwood’s former C.A.R.T. Technical Rescue Unit was purchased to be converted into the haz mat unit.
The new haz mat unit for MABAS Divisions 19 & 22 is almost ready for service.
All photos are taken by Peotone Chief Schreiber
Haz Mat 6907 will be housed with the Palos Fire Department.
This 1982 Pierce Arrow was formerly a heavy rescue unit before it was the C.A.R.T. unit in Braidwood.
MABAS Divisions 19 and 22 will have a new joint divisional haz mat unit. The unit was purchased from the Braidwood Fire District, a 1983 Pierce Arrow 20-foot walk-in rescue unit. It is replacing a 1984 IHC/Hesse that had accumulated over 200,000 miles. This new unit will be housed with the Palos Fire District and will be assigned the number 6097. Haz mat 6907 will respond to incidents on the north side of the MABAS Division 19 and 22 area.
The new haz mat unit to be shared between MABAS Divisions 19 and 22 is this former Braidwood Fire District C.A.R.T. tactical rescue squad. Karl Klotz photo
The Village of Lakewood, in McHenry County, created a new fire department four years ago. Prior to that, they had contracted for many years with Crystal Lake for fire protection. They are currently looking into an intergovernmental agreement with the Woodstock Fire Rescue District to provide these services beginning the first of next year. An article in the Northwest Herald can be seen HERE.
Thanks to Bill Friedrich for bringing this to our attention.
Lakewood Engine 1041 came from Tallman, NY. It was origiinally a 1977 Hahn 1500/1000 that was refurbished by Pierce in 1991 with a new Pierce Arrow cab. Larry Shapiro photo
Lakewood Engine 1042 is a 1987 Pierce Arrow 1500/500 which was formerly owned by Arlington Heights, IL. Larry Shapiro photo
This is Lakewood Brush 1061 which is built around a Ford F350 -pickup. Larry Shapiro photo
Nov 6
Jeff Rudolph took in the 2nd alarm tender box yesterday in Waukegan and submitted several photos. The fire on 11/05/10 came in at 1400hrs. and was at 5666 W. Victor Lane in the far southwest corner of their district. It is a non-hydranted area. Fire was in the attached garage of a 1-story frame. Knollwood E44 was used to draft water supplied by the tenders.
Waukegan E-2 (1612), a 1991 E-ONE Cyclone 1500/750 has a pre-connect of at the fire. Photo by Jeff Rudolph
This Grayslake tender is a 1989 Mack/Darley/Stuart 1000/4000. It is one of the tenders that responded to the call for mutual aid into Waukegan. by Jeff Rudolph
Pleasant Prairie, WI travelled the farthest distance of all the mutual aid companies. Tender 5613 was built by Pierce on an Arrow chassis. Photo by Jeff Rudolph
Winnetka is due to place their new Smeal quint in service next week. Yesterday, the current Truck 28, which is a 1990, Pierce Arrow, 75′ quint, responded to a box alarm in Glencoe. Though the aerial wasn’t put to work, this may very well have been the last working fire response for this unit. A small gallery of scene images can be seen HERE.
Truck 28 on-scene in Glencoe on 11-5-10 at a box alarm for a basement fire in a new home. This may be the last real fire for this 1990 workhorse which is scheduled for replacement in roughly a week. Larry Shapiro photo
Truck 28 was delivered with the Winnetka Fire Department decal design which was designed from their patch featuring the rising sun on the lake. Larry Shapiro photo
Winnetka Truck 28 is the first-due truck into neighboring Glencoe. Over the years, Glencoe has had a number of fires where Truck 28 went to work. It is seen here at an extra alarm in December of 2000. The door decal shows the current emblem which replaced the sun rising over the lake. Larry Shapiro collection
Winnetka provides fire and EMS services to Kenilworth in addition to Winnetka. Several years ago they added the Kenilworth name to each piece of apparatus. In this image, Truck 28 is setup in the driveway of a large house in Kenilworth at a fire around the time of halloween. If you look closely, you will see a skeleton hanging by the front door. Larry Shapiro collection
Three homes burned on the night of September 25th in 1996 on Edgewood Lane, which is on the border between Glencoe and Winnetka. One house was under construction at the time and was totally destroyed. Winnetka Truck 28 went to work here as part of this defensive attack with an elevated master stream. At the time of this fire, the old decal was still in use. Larry Shapiro collection
In 1990 when Truck 28 went into service, it replaced this 900 Series 100' mid-ship American LaFrance Ladder Chief. Prior to the creation of RED Center (Regional Emergency Dispatch) which was originally out of Niles' headquarters station, Winnetka's apparatus carried numbers in the 70s. This was Truck 70. Then with RED Center, all of the fire departments in MABAS Division 3 were renumbered consecutively in an attempt to create a more standardized cohesive system. Larry Shapiro collection
The sequence of photos depict three different types of graphics packages on the Winnetka trucks over the years. Originally, as seen on the 900 Series, American LaFrance Ladder Chief, the only name on the trucks was Winnetka and the unit number was in a decorative emblem of gold leaf. Later they took the patch design with the rising sun over the lake, which was followed by a new patch and decal incorporating a traditional shield shape. Within the seal they incorporated a design that was created for their centennial which features a maltese cross with a steamer. The new 2010 Spartan/Smeal unit will feature different graphics again. The work has not yet been completed, but is rumored to have a return to a more traditional way of featuring the rig number along with the decal.
When the new aerial goes into service, the 1990 Pierce will be moving on to another life with a fire department in southern Illinois.
…Engine 28, a 2000, Pierce, Saber, top-mount, is currently under going repairs and refurbishing. When it returns, it will have a black roof to match the new truck.
For the finest department portraits and composites contact Tim Olk or Larry Shapiro.
