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A Commentary: CFD apparatus history – part 3 of 3
Part 3 of a commentary by Bill Post on the history of the Chicago Fire Department continues here. You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
Fire Commissioner Quinn initially kept the six Flying Manpower Squads operational, but he wisely chose to retain Snorkel Squad 1. Instead, Snorkel 2 was decommissioned just before the implementation of the Maatman Report's recommendations. At that time, five additional salvage squads were introduced. When the Flying Manpower Squads officially launched in 1969, Salvage Squad 1, which the consultant had advised keeping, was taken out of service on May 1st. Coincidentally, this was the same day Flying Manpower Squad 4 began operations, utilizing the 1954 AutoCar Squad previously used by Salvage Squad 1. Rescue 3, the remnants of Snorkel Squad 3, also ceased operations on that date. Although the 1968 Maatman report was published in November and all six Flying Manpower Squads were operational by November 1969, Fire Commissioner Bob Quinn had yet to act on taking Snorkel 6 out of service or moving Snorkel 4 from Engine 25 to Engine 67. Despite Snorkel 2 going out of service in February 1969, the south side still had multiple Snorkels assigned.
On March 9, 1970, Truck 31 was relocated from Engine 104's south loop station to a new facility on the far southwest side. Snorkel 4 was then moved from Engine 25 to Engine 104 on the same day. On July 7, 1970, a brick wall from a multi-story abandoned factory on North Ashland Avenue collapsed onto Snorkel 7 while they were dousing the smoldering remains from a 5-11 alarm fire. Snorkel 7 was completely destroyed, and Firefighter Jack Walsh succumbed to his injuries. Snorkel 7 was never replaced, leaving Snorkel 5 as the sole Snorkel on the north side.
A few months later, in early 1971, the fire department's consultant Gerald Maatman issued a follow-up progress report reviewing the department's adherence to the 1968 recommendations. While many suggestions were implemented, a few had not been addressed. Since Fire Commissioner Quinn chose to keep Snorkel Squad 1 in place and removed Snorkel 2 and Salvage Squad 1, the consultant suggested relocating Snorkel Squad 1 to Engine 5's station. However, Snorkel Squad 1 remained at 1044 N. Orleans, staying in its original location as long as Quinn served as commissioner. The 1971 Maatman report also recommended establishing a 7th Flying Manpower Squad at Engine 108's station on the far northwest side, intended to cover the area from Engine 7 and Truck 58's station. Instead, Flying Manpower Squad 5 was stationed at Engine 114's old station at Fullerton and Central Park, which was too far southeast to effectively serve the northwest side.
Chicago's Flying Manpower Squads were using outdated pumpers from the 1950s and late 1940s, lacking the specialized equipment recommended in the 1968 report. The consultant provided precise equipment specifications and apparatus types for the Flying Manpower Squads. Six Salvage Squads remained operational, and the consultant suggested removing Salvage Squads 6 and 7, which overlapped with Flying Squad coverage, creating redundancy.
Two truck companies, 43 and 46, which prior reports recommended closing, were still active. The spaces occupied by these companies were suggested for Snorkel companies. Again, it was recommended to close these two truck companies. Snorkel 4 was supposed to move to Engine 67 (Truck 46), and Snorkel 7 to Engine 110 (Truck 43) with Flying Squad 6. However, Snorkel 4 couldn't relocate as long as those two trucks were in service. Finally, on November 16, 1971, Trucks 46 and 43 were closed, and Snorkel 6 moved from Engine 46 on the southeast side to Engine 110 on the north side. Snorkel 6 was originally slated for closure, but with Snorkel 7 lost in July 1970, Snorkel 6 was relocated instead.
Snorkel 4 wasn't moved to Engine 67 until June 1972. Afterward, not only was Snorkel 3 the sole Snorkel on the south side, but Snorkel 4, which had been in the south loop and second due on the south side, was now farther away as it was now on the far west side. It was ironic that there were now two Snorkels on the north side, one on the west side, and only one on the south side. There were no Snorkels downtown unless you counted Snorkel Squad 1 with their 50-foot Snorkel on the near north side. To be fair, Snorkel 5 was located in a high fire frequency area back then, and Snorkel 6 was just west of a high fire frequency zone.
Since the south side lacked a second Snorkel company, Snorkel 5 was automatically relocated to Snorkel 3 on a Still and Box Alarm when Snorkel 3 was due. Snorkel 5 wasn't relocated to Engine 5 (from Engine 57) until January 1975, bringing them closer to the south side by placing them in the west loop. Two years later, in 1977, Snorkel 5 was relocated again, this time to the west side at Engine 23's station. It wasn't until April 1981 that the south side regained a second Snorkel. The new Snorkel 4 (using Snorkel Squad 1's 1975 Hendrickson Pierce 55-foot Snorkel) was put into service at Engine 123's station.
One month later, Snorkel 3 was renumbered as Snorkel 5 to match the new fire district it was assigned to and was relocated to Engine 72's station. In May 1981, each Snorkel was renumbered and relocated to align with the five new fire districts replacing the seven old fire divisions on April 11, 1981. Snorkel 5 became Snorkel 1, Snorkel 4 became Snorkel 2, Snorkel 6 became Snorkel 3, Snorkel 4 was a new company, and Snorkel 3 became Snorkel 5. Snorkel Squad 1 had been taken out of service on October 3, 1980.
Commissioner Quinn preserved Snorkel Squad 1, keeping it operational in 1969, and delayed relocating some Snorkels. However, after Snorkel 7's destruction, he had to relocate Snorkel 6 to the north side. The city resisted hiring more firefighters after 1967, instructing Gerald Maatman to manage the department on the same budget without increasing staffing. Some of his recommendations were beneficial, such as equipping trucks with K-12 saws and ladder pipes and adding multi-versals to engines. He also suggested installing air masks on engines and trucks, which the CFD adopted slowly, not fully implementing until the late 1970s and early 1980s. On fundamental aspects, the CFD lagged behind other departments.
New fire stations constructed in the 1970s were partly due to Maatman's recommendations. Engine 70 and Truck 47's new station was recommended in 1968. Had the city hired more firefighters, the report wouldn't have needed to establish four-man company districts and recommend cutting special companies. Interestingly, in 1968, the last full year Snorkel Squad 3 and Snorkel Squad 2 were operational, they were the busiest in Chicago. Snorkel Squad 3 responded to 5,952 incidents, and Snorkel Squad 2 handled 5,117 runs.
This was impressive given that Snorkel Squad 3 had stopped using a Snorkel since January 1967, and Snorkel Squad 2 ceased using a Snorkel by mid-1968. During those years, all types of squads were automatically dispatched with engines and trucks on still alarms without confirming a working fire, leading to many "hold the squad" messages and squad turnbacks. As the Snorkel Squads were the only rigs equipped with K-12 saws, multi-versals, and back-mounted air masks, all three Snorkel Squads responded to citywide 2-11 alarms in 1967 and 1968. Power saws began appearing on truck companies in 1967, and multi-versals on engines in 1968, reducing dependency on Snorkel Squads for basic equipment. Air masks weren't installed on engines and trucks until the late 1970s.