Evanston Fire Department history Part 62

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

In 1962, news spread that a new high-rise office building called “State Bank Plaza” would be built downtown in Evanston. In response, Chief Geishecker asked the city to purchase a 100-foot aerial ladder truck for Station #1. The existing 1951 Pirsch TDA at Station #1 would then be moved to Station #3, replacing the aging 1937 Seagrave 65-foot ladder truck that was no longer considered suitable for frontline use.

Truck Company 23 had been responding to only about two calls per week, so the city manager disagreed with the chief’s recommendation and the city council did not approve funding for a new TDA. At this point, Chief Geishecker faced a tough decision: either move Truck 21’s crew to Squad 21 and send its 1951 Pirsch 85-foot TDA to Station #3 as Truck 23, or take Truck 23 out of service and transfer its personnel to Squad 21.

Moving Truck 21’s crew to Squad 21 and relocating the TDA to Station #3 would have kept Truck 23 active, maintained staffing at Station #1, and ensured that a truck company was within 2-1/2 miles of all insured buildings in the city. However, it would also have left the downtown “high-value district” without an aerial ladder truck. This area was the city’s main tax base and where most fire insurance premiums were paid. Businesses were starting to leave downtown Evanston for Old Orchard in Skokie, so keeping local merchants happy was a top priority for the city manager and council.

Even having two truck companies (Truck 22 and Truck 23) within 1-1/4 miles of Fountain Square wasn’t enough to meet NBFU standards for the downtown area. In fact, the NBFU had previously recommended adding an engine company at Station #1 in its 1959 report. Reinstating Squad 21 as a front-line company would add three more firefighters to each shift at Station #1 and increase the number of responders to all alarms citywide.

Ultimately, Chief Geishecker decided to take Truck 23 out of service on January 1, 1963, and reassign its crew to Squad 21 at Station #1. The old 1937 Seagrave 65-foot ladder truck became the EFD’s reserve unit. The downside 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 served in front-line duty from April 1955 to April 1957, during which time it was the busiest unit in the EFD. It was taken out of service in 1957 due to staffing cuts from the three-platoon system and because adding a third truck company was seen as more important at the time. From 1957 to 1962, Squad 21 remained in reserve, with very few calls each year. It was manned by Engine 21 for inhalator calls (around 100 per year) until 1959, when inhalators were installed on all front-line engines. If needed, it could be driven to a fire by the equipment mechanic.

Replacing Truck 23 with Squad 21 worked well overall, except for the increased response times to northwest Evanston. After being reinstated, Squad 21 quickly became the busiest unit again. It responded to all fire calls citywide as a rescue and manpower unit, as well as inhalator calls, minor fires, and other details in Station #1’s area, allowing Engine 21 to focus on structure fires.

Squad 21 was equipped with a 1000-GPM pump and a 100-gallon water tank but didn’t carry a full hose load. Instead, it had two 50-foot lengths of 1-1/2 inch hose (“donuts”) in one compartment, which could be connected to a side discharge. However, it was often faster to use the booster line (“red line”) when responding to gas washes, vehicle fires, or trash fires, or if the squad arrived before an engine company.

Engine 21 carried 300 feet of 1-1/2 inch hose, while Engines 22 and 25 each had 250 feet. Engines 23 and 24 (the 1958 Seagraves) each carried 650 feet of 1-1/2 inch line, including two pre-connected leads to rear discharge ports. Engine 21 had 1,800 feet of 2-1/2 inch line, while the other four front-line engines each had 1,500 feet. As the first-due engine to the downtown “high-value district,” Engine 21 carried both 1-1/2 and 2-1/2 inch “hotel loads.”

Engines 21, 22, and 25 had a lead of soft-sleeve suction hose on the right-rear step, pre-connected to a rear intake port. Engines 23 and 24 had similar leads on the front bumper. Each engine also carried additional unconnected soft-sleeve suction hose, plus two sections of rarely used hard suction hose. All five front-line engines had one-inch rubber booster line (“red line”) on a reel.

Squad 22 (the high-pressure / hose truck) had 1,750 feet of 3-inch “fireboat” hose, and the ladder trucks each carried two 50-foot lengths of 3-inch hose for elevated master streams. Even though they weren’t in front-line service, the three reserve engines each carried a full hose load (250 feet of 1-1/2 inch and 1,500 feet of 2-1/2 inch), 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 all had one-inch rubber booster line on a reel.

In addition, there was an extra 700 feet of 1-1/2 inch hose at Station #1, 250 feet at Stations #2 and #5, and 650 feet at Stations #3 and #4. Each station also had 1,500 feet of 2-1/2 inch hose, which was rotated regularly.