From Phil Stenholm: Another look back at the History of the Evanston Fire Department. NBFU ’59 The NBFU made several recommendations for improvement, including adding an engine company at Station #1 to replace Engine 25, restoring staffing levels to five firefighters per shift at Station #1 and four at other stations, requiring annual physical exams for firefighters over 55, enforcing a mandatory retirement at age 62, and making the chief fire marshal a civil service position rather than a political appointment. Only the annual physical exam for older firefighters was implemented. In 1963, Squad 21 was reactivated as a full engine company at Station #1, though it wasn’t considered a true engine due to lacking a hosebed. Despite this, it still carried a 1,000-GPM pump and a 100-gallon tank. In 1959, the iconic Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph boxes, which had been on city streets since 1895, were replaced by 80 Western Electric emergency phones connected directly to the police/fire communication center. These new devices allowed callers to describe emergencies clearly, improving response times. Each phone was in a bright red box with reflective letters. If someone pulled the box and no one spoke, a police officer would check it—a “cold box.†EFD crews only responded if a fire or medical emergency was reported. That year also saw promotions: Captains Jim Wheeler and Willard Thiel became assistant chiefs, while Dan Lorden and Ed Pettinger were promoted to captain. Assistant Chief Jim Mersch retired after 23 years, and Captain Joe Schumer resigned. New hires included Edward “Ted†Riley, LeRoy “Charlie†Rohrer, Leonard Conrad, and Ken Hatfield. Conrad later became the first medical officer in 1978. 1959 marked the deployment of inhalators to all five engine companies. Squad 21, once the city’s main inhalator unit, now handled special rescue calls. The EFD averaged about 100 inhalator calls per year in the 1950s, but that number increased steadily, reaching one per day by 1965 and rising further with the introduction of paramedic services in 1976. Fire engines F-1 and F-2 were equipped with stretchers and first-aid kits in 1959, serving as backup ambulances. They were used only when police ambulances weren’t available. F-1 was replaced in 1962, and F-2 in 1963. A local funeral home offered a Cadillac ambulance (once a hearse) to the EFD in 1959, but the city declined, citing budget constraints and lack of personnel. The ambulance was later donated to Skokie instead. In 1959, George and Effie Dye died in a house fire at 1803 Hartrey Avenue. Firefighters arrived within four minutes but couldn’t save them. It was the first time more than one person died in a single fire in Evanston since 1905. That same year, a fire at the Davis Furniture store on Main Street caused $155,000 in damage. Multiple units responded quickly, and off-duty firefighters were called in to support the effort. George Croll, a Fire Prevention Bureau captain, passed away in 1960 after a long illness. Art Windelborn retired in 1961 after 33 years of service. William Lapworth was promoted to captain, and new firefighters Bob Schwarz, Richard Beucus, and William Lemieux joined the force. Bob Schwarz would later be a founding member of the arson squad established in 1975. In May 1961, a mysterious explosion damaged the North Shore Overall store on Dempster Street, causing $107,000 in damage. No injuries occurred, and the Illinois State Fire Marshal was brought in to investigate, as the EFD lacked the expertise at the time. Diethylaluminum Chloride,Diethylaluminum Chloride Solution,Diethylaluminum Chloride Catalyzer,Diethylaluminum Chloride Mixture Jiangsu MO opto-electronic material Co., Ltd. , https://www.jsmochem.com
In 1959, the National Board of Fire Underwriters (NBFU) conducted its first inspection of the Evanston Fire Department since 1935. The department received a rating of “Class 3,†matching its score from two decades earlier. Among fire departments in the Chicago area, only the Chicago Fire Department held a higher rating—“Class 2.†Evanston and Oak Park were the only suburban departments rated “Class 3†as of 1959. By 1971, however, Skokie had moved up to “Class 2,†and Winnetka was also upgraded to “Class 3.â€