City in Sound; Fire Rescue Squad #3

This is Jim Hurl that holding the microphone to catch the kaleidoscopic pattern of the voices of the city in the city in sound. That's a sound familiar to all of us, the fire engine siren. As children we thrill to its message of action and excitement. As adults we dismiss it as signaling an all -too -familiar disruption of the pattern of uncomplicated normal living. Some of us treat it so casually we carelessly impede the progress of the vehicle for which the wailing siren is trying to clear a passage. But when it's speeding to our rescue to our aid we wish it Godspeed. All fire companies in Chicago are vitally important to the community. Busiest of all is fire rescue squad 3 at 53rd place in wall bash on the south side. You're Captain Elmer

Johnson the captain of squad 3 right? Yes sir. You've been working with a squad a long time. A number of years I'll far back to that goal. Oh 1936. You know a great deal about the operation of a fire rescue squad particularly this one is it true that fire rescue squad 3 is the busiest fire squad in the nation? It's presumed to be the busiest. After this time Elmer how many runs you've made thus far in 1958? Oh up until the end of November around 4 ,100 I believe. 4 ,100? Yes. 4 ,100. Now when we talk about a rescue squad making runs that doesn't mean just going to fire does it? No that that means a number of different things. Interlators refrigerator leaks, street accidents all there's a number of things that take too long to anything at all that happens. The squad is calling. Well I might take too long to talk about it but I'd like to talk about some of those off -beat things for instance you you mentioned a refrigerator leak. What does a squad do when it goes out on a

report of a refrigerator leak? Well the people call their apartment gets filled up with most of the time it's a sulfur dioxide and they can't they have to leave their flat and they call and we have to go in with mass and move the ice box either to the porch or the back yard and get it out of the flat and ventilate the place before the people get back in it. I noticed on your log a report of a cow that had to be removed from the street now that's an odd sort of around you get involved. Yes well it was an accident on the corner right near the engine house here and the cattle got loose and one of them got in the school yard and they were having trouble corralling so they called us and we don't know where they're in to help them corrall it. Now when you go along on a fire run what is the work of the squad in relation to the other fire equipment? Well when the squad answers a fire alarm and there's a fire and building or whatever it happens to be we are what you call a utility company. We're added manpower.

We hook and ladder or first if there's rescue work to be done that's what we start in first and ventilate the building in order to let the fire company signal with the hose so they can get to the seat of the fire. On New Year's Eve only does the squad expect to get more work than they do with other times of the year. Well it's pretty hard to say I don't know it's possible yes that normally you do get a different type of call I suppose on New Year's Eve. We'll do much celebration maybe. Yeah carols about fires and things of that sort. That's right that's right we get quite a few people come home and they go to go to bed smoking cigarettes and the first thing you know the mattress and fire and sometimes they burn up with the mattress. What's the strength of the fire rescue squad as far as men is concerned? It's a 21 man company. There's a captain two tenants and 18 firemen seven men to each ship and the ship last how long 24 hours and how much time does a

fireman have off then he works 24 hours and he's off 48 hours there's an advantage of that risk by the day rate. Yes that's right. Well when he's at the fire station he has to stay here all the time. He has to be right within not more than 10 feet away from that apparatus and he has to be right at the Joker stand where all the alarms come in. The man who drives the rescue squad is he an ordinary fireman. He's just a fireman. On an engine company the driver is an engineer. He's just the next promotion about a fireman he's an engineer that's right. Who's driving squad three tonight? Vernon Kelso is a driver. You're Vernon Kelso right? You're the drivers squad three. That's right Jim. How long have you been pushing this rig around the streets? Well I've been driving this rig steady now for about four years. Have you really? Yeah. There's quite a few problems in handling a piece of fire equipment I should call you out there. Yeah it's mostly the traffic. I mean people get confused I don't know whether to pull over

or go ahead and they just you just have to out guess them that's all. When you operate on the streets now do you operate with the siren and the flashing lights? Siren, Mars light and head lights everything. Do you think that people respect those emergency signs that they see? Not always. I mean there's a lot of people that try and raise you to corners. Still aren't they? Still haven't been educated at the idea that you're out there trying to save lives. I mean they don't want to give you a break at all. I suppose in the time that you've been driving Vernon you've seen cases where the difference between a delay on the street and getting there in a hurry could have meant they've lost the life. That's right. They're trying to get theirs fast and as safe as possible. I mean that's the main thing getting everybody there. What type of engine is this squad wagon? Well this is not an auto car, a cab over engine. Like power down there? Yeah it's geared to pull. We just started up for us. We'll just hear that sound. Sure

sounds they burnt. From the time the house bell goes how long does it take you to get down here and get on this street with this squad? Well we're out of the house within 30 seconds. Within 30 seconds. That's day or night. Day or night. Fast asleep. When you're asleep up topside there what do you do? Keep your bunkers beside the bed and you're in them and no time and down the pole. Again this driver of the squad let's go back to a special duty type of run. Say we have an in a later run. What is your duty then? Well I usually get around and get the box out. When you speak to the box what is that? The innovator box. Is that an ENJ? Who do you work with usually on this ship for example? Who works with you on the ENJ? Well I usually carry it up and two men will be up there and they set it up. Who will be for your tonight working on it for example? Well the proudly fireman daily or fireman Dzencki. And I can tell us about the operating of the ENJ itself. What's your name? Bernie Dzencki. You're on squad three. That's right. Bernie

they're just telling me about the ENJ the interlater. Could you show me that piece of equipment? Where is it kept here on the squad? Right here at the right hand side just about the center of the squad. The center shelf, the black box. Can you operate it right here from this position? Yes I can. What are you doing now? Getting out of an oxygen bottle. What do you do with it? Well first we get this out of the way. That's the rubber tubing that connects to the face mask. Either one of these ports here we usually put two bottles in one on either side and then lock it in with a turn screw like that. How what happens next? I'll use the key to open the bottle. The gauge here indicates the pressure of the oxygen in the bottle that we can tell when it runs out in this dial up here. That's on top of the center. It's right on top of the toe. This is actually

the breeding apparatus of the the center. Well the controlling of the oxygen you have off and then slow and then Hi. Now this is the face mask. This is the face mask and to operate the inhalator we have this lever here that pushes an iron inhalator. You open this so that the victim exhaling can allow the air to come back out because when you put the tight up against the face the air goes in naturally when he exhales it has to come out the end. Is there a difference? Is there a difference per night between the inhalator and the resuscitator? Yes there is and that amounts to well the inhalator merely supplies oxygen to a breathing victim. Now when you flip this to resuscitator it's for a victim who isn't breathing then you have to close this close the port on the back side and you put it tight against the victim's face. Now that sound is when the oxygen meets resistance or

filling up the lungs. When it fills up the lungs it clicks shuts it off and gives time for the oxygen to relieve itself and then again it's just the normal breathing of the heart. Bernie we're using the resuscitator on an unconscious victim. How long do you keep on using it? Well it depends on the situation if usually we try to get a doctor and then we're under his supervision but until a doctor arrives we put it on and keep it there until it's pretty obvious that we're not doing any good but we try to do whatever we can. Now there's your keep on using it just as long as there's a chance that life that's right. That's right. That's right. You're Joseph Daily aren't you? Joseph Daily, right? Joe could I ask a favor of you would you describe to me the things that are on the squad here in these various compartments. I've already talked about the inhalator but there's other equipment besides the ENJ in this compartment. Well right under the inhalator here is all our

hose fittings. What kind of fittings what do they have names, technical names for these? Well our shut -off pipes and sorry no we don't carry the same ease we just carry smaller fittings, smaller nazzles. This is for firing a wall. Push it down. Yes it does. It's good down in a wall. It's run water in the wall and see and most of these engines you know they look for a squad when they go to a fire they got any fittings they might need a big fire they can get it from the squad. What does this pipe here on the side of the squad just above this compartment? Well this is where your lines from your engines come into the squad to work your turret on the tap. Or you have a pressure turret up on the tap. Let's step up here and look up inside the back itself. Now we're standing on the side on the back step and the

both of these sides come up. Over here we have our lifelines when we go to a tap of a building or something you take a lifeline in case you're trapped up there. A way to get down. A way to get down and your sledgehammers in shovels and stuff like that and we carry two masks, three masks over there. In other words actually the squad is completely equipped or any type of emergency condition you might run into. Yes we carry a short ladder back here and we have chains we can pull things down with that obstacles that are in the way. If a squad got to a fire and the other equipment managed to get there for one circumstance or another you could go to work as a working fire company. Well as a working fire company but minus the water you need the engine for the water. Say one last question what's the Chicago bar I hear firemen refer to a

Chicago bar or a Corrigan bar what is that? Well that's this thing right here that's you can use it for anything getting in a door where you can't otherwise get in. What it looks like is a man with super king -sized can opener. That's just about what they use it for they use it for everything it's for moving bricks and everything you can. A terrific leverage with this Chicago bar. Why is it called a Corrigan bar? It was because Mike Corrigan the former fire commissioner designed it. Well maybe I never I always heard it called a Chicago bar but I imagine he did I've heard someone talk about it. He did the fire department for great many years. Yeah well that was before my time. How long have you been on the fire department? I've been on almost three years now. What do you think about the life of a fireman? Oh I think it's terrific. Yeah yeah I really do. Well there's a lot of challenge doesn't

it? It does and my kids all love it they think I'm terrific. That's why I like it so much. How many kids do you have? Eight. Eight children. You're going to make a lifetime career out of life. Oh wouldn't do anything else. Over here on watches an old friend of mine lieutenant Leroy Hunter who along years ago used to drive Squad 3 he's now the lieutenant in charge of this ship for engine 61. Leroy could you tell us something about the stand up here in front the jogger stand and the different ways that alarms come in for Squad 3? Well there are any number of ways we have three or four different ways that an alarm can come in they've been in the event of a failure of one or two. The others we have different systems that can be thrown in. Well what's this piece of equipment over here? That's a register that records all the box alarms that come in and when when that box a box has pulled any place in the city that's immediately relayed to one of the two offices and they in turn send

it out over the register to every engine house in the city. Well what does it send out? It each box is numbered and we have a complete file as does every other firehouse of every fire box and their location and our automatic responses to those boxes and they're they're all numbered. For instance up here on the board are the numbers of the box alarms to which engine company 61 and Squad 3 respond. Yes we all have our respective locations and that's that's our running card. I see 1126 box and 43rd Nellis for example it has a letter s after as well after what does that mean? The squadel on responds to that. I see in the event there were further alarms pulled on that box of course the engine would go too. What's a still alarm? That's your initial alarm. It's your basic alarm. What does it mean? Is that any time a citizen

or anyone calls in the fire alarm office and reports a fire still is immediately sounded. It is the the companies are dispatched closest to that fire. Now a still alarm gets a response of an engine, a truck, a squad wagon, the battalion marshal and salvage patrol. The minute an alarm comes in Leroy what happens here? Do you sound the housebell? The waker bell is sounded and then of course all the men go to their positions and as soon as we're ready we pull right out to the scene or the location. We've been getting a fair number of alarms down here on this busy day and as the fuel is very shortly one will be coming in. It's very possible. Hello I'm just 61 and Squad 3 and just 61 and Squad 3 you got to fire 51 -22, not Ferrari. 51 -22, not Ferrari. Here we go.

Well now we're up in the camp of Squad 3 engine 61 is going out ahead of us. Now we're moving out of the house and heading south on wall by cabin hoop. We're proceeding south now on wall bags we're just crossing 55 and although we're going there is a typical example of a person who does not wait for the light. A kind of that is to just pull directly in front of firing rescue Squad 3 and we hit this intersection and spite of the fact that our son is going. Our lights are flashing. This man risks the life of every man in this company not to mention his own and the people at our destination. Does that have a pretty awful and you're right out of here? It's very dangerous they don't have any respect if we got for

the fire of the officers and men of the apparatus. We're now coming up to another intersection that's turning here. And I think you're going to hear the two -way radio contact that Squad 3 has with fire alarm headquarters. In this case at 63rd and Wentworth. We're pulling up now to the scene of this call. There's a truck company here on the scene and we also see the engine company pulled up just ahead of us. Squad 3. Squad 3, 2, 1, offer. I am the senior squad. Squad 3 is on the scene. Case one. Well there you were just in that length of time it took us to get to the scene. But when we reached the scene here we've had a wave off from the battalion chief who was on the location. So

the company mascot what's his name? Mugs. Mugs. Yeah old mugs is leaning back over the seat all the way out there. Mugs was tense and looking out ahead watching the traffic but now that we're heading back home he's turned around to be sure everybody's under control and we're on our way back to quarters. Well this shows how busy this fire company is. We have just pulled up in front of our quarters at 53rd and Wal -Basch. When has you heard the two -way radio came in from fire alarm headquarters with a report of a box alarm of fire at 54th and so far. Well without stopping we've pulled on our way to respond to that alarm. It's barely close by.

It'll be there shortly. Going down on narrow street now cars have pulled up on both sides. In this case stopping to give us access to the fire scene. This area in which squad we work is what is known as a high -risk area. The grave many people often live in very confined quarters and a fast response is imperative under these conditions. This is a school box that's been pulled. We've pulled up in front of a school and Captain Elmer Johnson

is now getting out of the squad to check the fire alarm box that was pulled here. He's gone to the box. Was the box pulled here? Yes it was. What do you think Captain Elfone? Yeah it's on the prankster I guess pulled the box and run off. Pretty rough thing pulling a school box under the condition that we have here in Chicago right now. That brings quite a lot of equipment. That's quite a lot of equipment on the street. When you pull up the box and there's no one there you have a pretty good idea there's the unfolds alarm. That's right that's right. Usually if there's a fire there's someone standing nearby or waiting to tell you where the fire is. Well the first piece of equipment in of course was squad three because they were closed by an in -motion at the time with the alarm. The engine company has just pulled up here. What engine is that? The engine 61 and I see

the truck coming down around the corner. The truck 30, hook and land 30 coming in. What else will respond on this line? Is that cheap for the 16th battalion? Now that's engine 45 coming in now huh? Yes, engine 45 is just pulling in. And another piece coming down the other way what's that? That's engine 51. That's engine 51. There's a truck up and lander 15, 15 and there's the battalion chief and behind him another engine company, engine 50. And still another piece of equipment coming in. The insurance patrol all of this equipment called out needlessly by a false alarm here in front of the school at the school box. What school is this captain? I believe it's fair. Fair. Fair in school at 54th and South Park. The 16th battalion chief is now ordered the box truck out and this equipment

will head back to quarters to stand by for the next alarm. The busiest fire company in the finest fire department on the nation, Rescue Squad 3. And that's the city and sound with Jim Herbert at the microphone, George Wilson at the controls.