From Phil Stenholm:
Another installment in the History of the Evanston Fire Department.
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Following the introduction of Squad 21 into service in September 1952, there were slight adjustments in staffing at Station #1. Previously, two extra personnel were assigned to each shift for Engine 25 and Truck 21—two downtown units that served high-value districts. These personnel were now reassigned to Squad 21, which operated with a two-person crew for all inhalator calls, averaging about 100 per year during the 1950s. This allowed Squad 21 to take over as the city-wide inhalator unit, freeing up Engine 21 to focus on fire responses. Additional inhalators were kept on standby at Station #1 and could be loaded onto any EFD vehicle if needed.
Squad 21 wasn’t limited to just inhalator calls. The unit was heavily equipped with four mounted searchlights, a portable gas generator, power tools, smoke-ejector fans, floodlights, extra salvage covers, two portable turret nozzles, a backboard, a Stokes basket, an ample supply of rope, rappelling gear, and an oxygen-acetylene cutting torch. As a result, it also responded to structure fires, rescues, and any other incident requiring its specialized equipment.
The deployment of Squad 21 with a two-person crew meant that each engine and truck company at Station #1 now operated with a maximum of five personnel per shift. However, if one member was absent due to vacation, illness, or injury, the crew could drop to four. With Squad 21 always staffed by two, and a chief’s driver always present, Station #1 maintained a maximum of 23 personnel per shift, though this could drop to 19 if all four companies were short-staffed.
The other three fire stations continued operating with a four-person crew per shift, following the staffing model established after the addition of Kelly Day in 1948. A three-person crew was possible if a firefighter was absent. This led to a total of 35 firefighters across all four stations when fully staffed, and as low as 28 if all seven companies were short one person. Due to restrictions on vacations and overtime during November through March, many shifts operated at full strength during the winter. In contrast, spring, summer, and early fall often saw several companies running with fewer personnel.
In 1953, annual salaries ranged from $7,200 for the Chief Fire Marshal down to $4,080 for a Fireman Recruit. Capt. Lincoln Dickinson (Engine Co. 23) retired after 20 years of service, and Lt. Knud Hanson (Truck Co. 22) retired after 26 years. Capt. Dickinson had been laid off in 1933 during the Great Depression, so his service was split between two separate periods. Similarly, Fireman John Kabel, who was also laid off in 1933, had a career interrupted by the economic downturn.
To fill the gaps left by Dickinson and Hanson, Lt. Erv Lindeman was promoted to Captain and took command of Engine Co. 24. Capt. Ronald Ford moved from Engine Co. 24 to 23, and Firemen Harry Schaeffer Jr. and Richard Schumacher were promoted to Lieutenant in 1954. Lt. Schumacher was the first post-WWII hire to reach that rank, and both would eventually retire as Assistant Chiefs.
After a wave of retirements in the 1940s, only seven non-officers retired in the 1950s. Among them were John Lee, Bernard Lindberg, John Linster, and William Schreiber in 1950, Francis Williams in 1951, John Kabel in 1953, and Charles Bammesberger in 1955. Many of these individuals had also experienced layoff periods, affecting their total years of service.
Although MABAS (Mutual-Aid Box Alarm System) was officially formed in 1968, its roots can be traced back to 1953. That year, several North Shore departments—including Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, and others—participated in a joint training exercise organized by the Northeastern Illinois Fire Chiefs Association. This event followed a real-life mutual-aid response in November 1952, when multiple departments helped fight a major fire at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Wilmette.
The 1953 training exercise provided an opportunity for local departments to practice coordinated responses to complex incidents. Evanston sent Engine Co. 23, Truck Co. 23, Engine Co. 25, Truck Co. 22, and Squad 21, with Capt. Ed Fahrbach leading Engine Co. 25 and Assistant Chief Michael Garrity commanding Truck Co. 22. Assistant Chief William Murphy remained in Evanston as acting platoon commander while the rest of the crews were in Winnetka.
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