Part 3 of a commentary by Bill Post on the history of the Chicago Fire Department: Part 1 can be found HERE and Part 2 can be found HERE. Twin Screw Extruder Gearbox,High Quality Direct Drive Extruder,Extruder Machine Gearbox,Sz Gearbox Transmission Reducer ZHOUSHAN BATTEN IMPORT AND EXPORT CO.,LTD. , https://www.battenscrew.comWhile Fire Commissioner Quinn did deploy the six Flying Manpower Squads, he (understandably) decided to keep Snorkel Squad 1 in service. Instead, Snorkel 2 was taken out of service, and less than a year before the Maatman Report recommendations were implemented, five additional salvage squads were activated. When the Flying Manpower Squads were introduced in 1969, Salvage Squad 1—recommended for retention by the consultant—was removed from service on May 1, 1969. That same day, Flying Manpower Squad 4 went into service, using the old 1954 AutoCar Squad that had previously belonged to Salvage Squad 1.
Rescue 3, which was essentially the remnants of Snorkel Squad 3, also went out of service on that day. Although the 1968 Maatman Report was released in November 1968, and the six recommended Flying Manpower Squads were all operational by November 1969, Fire Commissioner Bob Quinn hadn’t yet taken Snorkel 6 out of service. He also hadn’t moved Snorkel 4 from Engine 25 to Engine 67. As a result, the south side still had more than one Snorkel assigned, even though Snorkel 2 had been retired in February 1969.
On March 9, 1970, Truck 31 was moved from Engine 104’s station on the south loop to a new location on the far southwest side. On the same day, Snorkel 4 was transferred from Engine 25 to Engine 104. Then, on July 7, 1970, the brick wall of a multi-story vacant factory in the 1700 block of north Ashland Avenue collapsed onto Snorkel 7 while it was fighting a smoldering fire from the previous day. Snorkel 7 was completely destroyed, and Firefighter Jack Walsh later died from injuries sustained during the collapse. Snorkel 7 was never replaced, leaving Snorkel 5 as the only Snorkel on the north side.
Several months later, in early 1971, Gerald Maatman, the fire department’s consultant, released a follow-up report reviewing the department's compliance with the 1968 recommendations. While many of the original suggestions had been followed, several key items had not. Because Quinn had kept Snorkel Squad 1 in service and removed Snorkel 2 and Salvage Squad 1, Maatman recommended that Snorkel Squad 1 be relocated to Engine 5’s station. However, this recommendation was ignored, and Snorkel Squad 1 remained at its original location on 1044 N. Orleans as long as Quinn was in charge.
The 1971 Maatman report also suggested that a seventh Flying Manpower Squad be established at Engine 108’s station on the far northwest side. This squad, known as Flying Manpower Squad 5, was intended to cover the area from Engine 7 and Truck 58. But instead of being stationed where it was needed, it ended up at Engine 114’s old station at Fullerton and Central Park—too far southeast to properly serve the northwest side.
At the time, the Flying Manpower Squads were still using older pumpers from the 1940s and 1950s, and they weren’t equipped with the proper squad-type tools as outlined in the 1968 report. The consultant had specified exactly what equipment should be carried and even provided detailed apparatus specifications.
Despite these recommendations, there were still six active Salvage Squads. The report had suggested removing Salvage Squads 6 and 7, as their coverage overlapped with the Flying Manpower Squads, creating redundancy. Additionally, two truck companies—Trucks 43 and 46—had been recommended for removal in earlier reports but remained active. These trucks occupied space that had originally been designated for Snorkel companies.
Snorkel 4 was supposed to be relocated to Engine 67 (Truck 46), and Snorkel 7 was meant to go to Engine 110 (Truck 43) along with Flying Squad 6. However, the relocation couldn’t happen as long as those trucks were in service. Finally, on November 16, 1971, Trucks 46 and 43 were taken out of service, and Snorkel 6 was moved from Engine 46 on the southeast side to Engine 110 on the north side. Snorkel 6 had originally been recommended for removal, but since Snorkel 7 had been destroyed in July 1970, it was instead relocated.
Snorkel 4 wasn’t moved to Engine 67 until June 1972. After that, Snorkel 3 was the only Snorkel left on the south side, while Snorkel 4 was now stationed further west. It was ironic that there were now two Snorkels on the north side, one on the west side, and just one on the south. Downtown had no dedicated Snorkels unless you counted Snorkel Squad 1 with its 50-foot ladder on the near north side.
Due to the lack of a second Snorkel on the south side, Snorkel 5 was automatically dispatched to join Snorkel 3 on Still and Box Alarms. Snorkel 5 wasn’t relocated to Engine 5 (from Engine 57) until January 1975, bringing it closer to the south side by placing it in the west loop. Two years later, in 1977, Snorkel 5 was moved again, this time to Engine 23 on the west side. It wasn’t until April 1981 that the south side regained a second Snorkel, with Snorkel 4 (using a 55-foot Hendrickson Pierce from Snorkel Squad 1) going into service at Engine 123.
A month later, Snorkel 3 was renumbered as Snorkel 5 to match its new fire district 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 that had replaced the seven old divisions on April 11, 1981. Snorkel 5 became Snorkel 1, Snorkel 4 became Snorkel 2, Snorkel 6 became Snorkel 3, and a new Snorkel 4 was created. Snorkel Squad 1 was finally taken out of service on October 3, 1980.
So, Mike, Commissioner Quinn had indeed saved Snorkel Squad 1 from being retired in 1969 and delayed the relocation of some other Snorkels. But after Snorkel 7 was destroyed, he had to move Snorkel 6 to the north side. The city didn’t want to hire more firefighters after 1967, so Maatman was tasked with finding ways to run the department on the same budget without adding more personnel.
Some of his recommendations were good, like adding K-12 saws, ladder pipes, and multi-versals to trucks and engines. He also suggested equipping engines and trucks with air masks, something the CFD was extremely slow to implement. It wasn’t until the late 1970s and early 1980s that this happened. In some basic areas, the CFD lagged behind other departments.
Many of the new fire stations built in the 1970s were based on Maatman’s recommendations. For example, Engine 70 and Truck 47’s new station was proposed in 1968. If the city had been willing to hire more firefighters, the report wouldn’t have had to suggest reducing company sizes and cutting special units. By the way, did you know that in 1968—the last full year both Snorkel Squad 3 and Snorkel Squad 2 were active—they were the busiest in Chicago? Snorkel Squad 3 responded to 5,952 incidents, and Snorkel Squad 2 had 5,117 calls.
This wasn’t bad considering that Snorkel Squad 3 hadn’t used a Snorkel since January 1967, and Snorkel Squad 2 had stopped using one by mid-1968. At the time, all types of squads were automatically dispatched on still alarms, without waiting for confirmation of a real fire. This led to many “hold the squad†messages and unnecessary responses.
As the Snorkel Squads were the only units with K-12 saws, multi-versals, and back-mounted air masks, they would often respond together on 2-11 alarms across the city. In 1967 and 1968, power saws were first added to truck companies, and multi-versals to engines, reducing the need for Snorkel Squads for basic equipment. Air masks weren’t installed on engines and trucks until the latter half of the 1970s.