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Evanston Fire Department history Part 62
**From Phil Stenholm:**
Another chapter in the **History of the Evanston Fire Department**
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**Hiding in Plain Sight**
Back in 1962, word got out that a towering office building named "State Bank Plaza" was going to be built in downtown Evanston. Hearing this, Chief Geishecker asked the city to buy a 100-foot aerial ladder truck for Station No. 1. This move was intended to replace the aging 1951 Pirsch Truck at Station No. 1 with the older 1937 Seagrave 65-foot ladder truck currently stationed there, which was deemed unsuitable for frontline duties.
At the time, Truck Company No. 23 was only averaging around two runs per week. Given this low activity level, the city manager didn’t agree with Chief Geishecker's proposal to invest in a new TDA. Consequently, the city council decided against allocating funds for a new aerial truck. With this decision made, Chief Geishecker had to make a tough call. He could either reassign the personnel from Truck Company No. 21 to Squad No. 21 and relocate their 1951 Pirsch 85-foot aerial truck to Station No. 3, or he could take Truck No. 23 out of frontline service entirely and redistribute its manpower to Squad No. 21.
If Truck Company No. 23’s manpower had been reassigned to Squad No. 21, it would’ve kept Truck No. 23 operational, maintained the same staffing levels at Station No. 1, and ensured a truck company remained within 2.5 miles of all insured buildings in the city. However, this plan would leave no aerial ladder truck stationed in the bustling downtown “high-value district.†Downtown was the heart of Evanston’s tax base in 1962, and many businesses there paid significant fire insurance premiums. At the time, businesses were already starting to move out of downtown Evanston toward Old Orchard in Skokie. Keeping the remaining merchants content was a top priority for the city manager and the council.
Even having two truck companies—Truck No. 22 and Truck No. 23—within 1.25 miles of Fountain Square wasn’t considered enough coverage by the National Board of Fire Underwriters’ standards. In fact, their 1959 inspection report recommended adding another engine company at Station No. 1 to replace Engine No. 25, which had been relocated to the new Station No. 5 in 1955. Restoring Squad No. 21 to frontline duty at Station No. 1 would have added three more firefighters per shift and increased the overall response strength to all general alarms, as the squad would cover fire calls citywide.
Ultimately, Chief Geishecker decided to take Truck No. 23 out of frontline service starting January 1, 1963, transferring its manpower to Squad No. 21 at Station No. 1. Truck No. 23 (the 1937 Seagrave 65-foot aerial truck) became the department’s reserve truck. While this decision worked well for the department overall, it meant the closest truck company to Willard School and the Presbyterian Retirement Home in northwest Evanston was now three miles away, and nearly four miles from the “High Ridge†area in the far northwest corner of the city.
Prior to 1957, Squad No. 21 had been in frontline service from April 1, 1955, to April 1, 1957, during which it was the busiest unit in the Evanston Fire Department. It was taken out of frontline service in 1957 due to staffing cuts related to the introduction of the three-platoon system. At that time, staffing a third truck company was deemed more important. Since then, Squad No. 21 had been kept in reserve, seeing very few runs annually. It was occasionally staffed by Engine No. 21 for inhalator calls (around 100 per year) until inhalators were installed on all five frontline engines in 1959. If necessary, it could be driven to a fire by the fire equipment mechanic.
Despite extending response times to northwest Evanston, replacing Truck No. 23 with Squad No. 21 turned out to be a solid decision for the EFD. Once back in frontline service, Squad No. 21 quickly became the department’s busiest unit. As a rescue and manpower company covering the entire city, it also responded to inhalator calls, minor fires, and miscellaneous tasks within Station No. 1’s district, ensuring Engine No. 21 stayed free for structure fires.
Though Squad No. 21 was equipped with a 1,000-gpm pump and a 100-gallon water tank, it lacked a hose bed and therefore didn’t carry a standard hose load. Instead, it carried two 50-foot lengths of 1-1/2 inch hose ("donuts") in one of its compartments, which could be deployed if needed, though it was often quicker to use the booster line ("red line") for smaller fires like gas leaks, vehicle blazes, or trash fires.
Engine No. 21 carried 300 feet of 1-1/2 inch hose, while Engines No. 22 and No. 25 carried 250 feet each. Engines No. 23 and No. 24 (the 1958 Seagrave pumpers) each carried 650 feet of 1-1/2 inch hose, with two pre-connected leads to rear discharge ports. Engine No. 21 carried 1,800 feet of 2-1/2 inch hose, while the Other four frontline engines carried 1,500 feet. Engine No. 21, being the first-due engine to the downtown “high-value district,†also carried hotel loads of 1-1/2 inch and 2-1/2 inch hose.
Each engine carried pre-connected soft-sleeve suction hose—two sections on the right-rear step for Engines No. 21, No. 22, and No. 25, and one on the front bumper for Engines No. 23 and No. 24. Additional leads were stored onboard but not pre-connected. Each engine also carried two sections of rarely used hard suction hose.
Squad No. 22, the high-pressure/hose truck, carried 1,750 feet of 3-inch "fireboat" hose, while the ladder trucks carried two 50-foot lengths of 3-inch hose for supplying elevated master streams. Reserve engines, though not in frontline service, still carried full hose loads: 250 feet of 1-1/2 inch hose and 1,500 feet of 2-1/2 inch hose, along with three sections of hard suction hose and two leads of soft-sleeve suction hose. All frontline engines and Squad No. 21 were fitted with 1-inch rubber booster lines ("red line") on a hose reel.
An extra 700 feet of 1-1/2 inch hose was kept at Station No. 1, 250 feet at Stations No. 2 and No. 5, and 650 feet at Stations No. 3 and No. 4. Additionally, 1,500 feet of 2-1/2 inch hose was stored at each station, with all hose rotated regularly to ensure readiness.
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*This was written from personal notes and recollections, reflecting my understanding of the events at the time.*