From Phil Stenholm:
Another chapter in the History of the Evanston Fire Department
Happy Birthday!
On May 1, 1975, the Evanston City Council approved bids for a brand-new 1,000/300 triple-combination pumper, following the same specs as the two Howe pumpers bought the previous year. This new pumper would replace the 1952 Pirsch 1000/100 TCP (Engine 25), which had originally been Squad 21 before being rebuilt into a TCP by General Body in 1966. Mack submitted the lowest bid at $53,725, beating out FWD Seagrave, Pirsch, and others for the contract. As expected, EFD Chief George Beattie insisted the new Mack pumper be painted "safety yellow," matching the two Howes delivered in 1974 and 1975.
In addition, Chief Beattie got a new red Plymouth sedan (fleet #301) in 1975, replacing his old 1973 Plymouth station wagon, which was reassigned to the platoon commanders as the new F-2 after a light bar was installed on the roof. The former F-2 (1971 Dodge station wagon) went to the Fire Prevention Bureau (FPB) for use by the newly-formed fire investigation unit ("arson squad"), staffed each shift by a trained fire investigator. Firefighters Bob Schwarz, Pat Lynn, and Jim Hayes were appointed as fire investigators by Chief Beattie. As part of the reorganization, one of the two FPB captain positions was eliminated after Capt. Joe Thill retired.
Also, as part of the contract following the firefighters' strike in February 1974, the average workweek for firefighters decreased from 56 hours to 54 hours. Two new positions were created in 1975, increasing total membership from 100 to 102. Now, one firefighter would cover for a colleague on a "short day" (formerly known as a "Kelly Day"), with three firefighters on each shift covering vacations and sick leave. Consequently, the de facto minimum shift staffing dropped from 28 to 27, with six three-man companies (five engine companies plus Truck 22), two four-man companies (Truck 21 and Squad 21), and the shift commander (F-2).
Eighteen new firefighters joined in 1974-75, including Samuel Boddie, Art Miller, Bill Betke, Jim Potts, Dave Lopina, Bob Hayden, Mike Adam, Don Gschwind, Thomas Simpson, Joe Hayes, Bob Wagner, Keith Filipowski, Ken Dohm, Tom Kavanagh, Milton Dunbar, Ward Cook, Jim Keaty, and Donald Williams. Firefighter James "Guv" Whalen was promoted to captain, Harry Harloff and Ken Perysian retired after 23 years of service, and several other firefighters left.
On Wednesday, May 28, 1975, the Evanston Fire Department responded to a report of a fire in the storage yard behind Rust-Oleum Corporation at 2301 Oakton Street. A second alarm was sounded upon arrival of the first companies, and a MABAS box was eventually pulled - the first time the EFD had requested a MABAS box since the system began in 1968.
At its height, 19 2-1/2-inch hand lines, two deluge nozzles, one multi-versal, one ladder pipe from Truck 22, one street jack, and one deck gun from Squad 21 sprayed water onto the storage yard and nearby structures as countless 55-gallon drums of paint exploded, sending debris flying hundreds of feet into the air. Evanston police temporarily evacuated homes to the east and north.
A 200,000-gallon water storage tank at the southwest corner of Cleveland and Hartrey, fed by a 24-inch main extending south from Church Street, supplied a 1,000-GPM pump owned by Rust-Oleum and operated by their company fire brigade, as well as the standard ten-inch and twelve-inch residential mains in the area. Engines from Evanston, Skokie, Wilmette, Morton Grove, and Winnetka pumped water from hydrants to the east and north of the fire, including one at the end of Cleveland Street near the C&NW RR Mayfair Division tracks a quarter-mile north of Rust-Oleum.
The blaze was finally surrounded, doused, contained, and extinguished, though not before causing $775,000 in damage - the fourth highest loss from a fire in Evanston's history up to that point. Only the fires at American Hospital Supply Corporation (October 1963), Rolled Steel Corporation (January 1970), and Bramson's clothing store (October 1971) caused greater damage. While not the costliest, the Rust-Oleum fire was certainly the most spectacular in Evanston's history!
The next day, May 29, 1975, the Evanston Fire Department celebrated its centennial. Though May 29, 1875, marked the legal establishment of the EFD by ordinance, the actual beginning of the village fire department was January 7, 1873, when the 60-man volunteer Pioneer Fire Company of Evanston was accepted by the village board.
The purpose of the fire department ordinance of May 29, 1875, wasn't to create a firefighting force. The Pioneer Fire Company - renamed "Pioneer Hose Co. No. 1" in December 1874 when the Holly High-Pressure Waterworks went online - already existed and had done so for over two years. The real aim of the ordinance was to legally outline how additional volunteer fire companies could be formed and accepted moving forward, since by May 1875, the C.J. Gilbert Hose Company was already in the process of being organized, chartered, and trained.
Once the C.J. Gilbert Hose Company was ready to join, the ordinance needed to define the relationship between the two hose companies. They might compete, but they couldn't be rivals. They had to work together toward a common goal. The ordinance also legally appointed the fire marshal as chief of the department, placing all hose companies - existing and future - officially under his command.
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