By Ron Heal
A recent field trip by the Heart of Illinois Fire Enthusiasts and Collectors (HOIFEC ) took them from central Illinois to the southwest side of Chicago. Their destination was the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago. The focus of the outing was to look over a 1928 Ahrens-Fox 1,000-gpm N-S-2 piston pumper. An added benefit was to learn more about the building that houses the big pumper and the organization that keeps things moving to preserve the history and tradition of the fire service in the Greater Chicago area.
The Fire Museum of Greater Chicago is located at 5218 S. Western Avenue in Chicago, IL. The building served as a firehouse to Chicago (IL) Fire Department (CFD) Engine 123 and Ambulance 8. Opened in 1916 as one of three similar two-story brick structures in use by the Chicago Fire Department, it would remain in use as a fire station until 1974. When the engine and ambulance moved over a few blocks to new quarters, the building was used by other City of Chicago agencies off and on until eventually the building was abandoned and boarded up.
In 2008 the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago was looking for a home that could house a growing collection of fire history and memorabilia. This group is a 501 C3 not-for-profit group that is some 1,100 members strong. There are a good number of active firefighters as well as many retired Chicago and area firefighters and their families that belong. Membership is a modest $30.00 a year for an individual. There are additional levels of membership. A very dedicated core group of approximately 15 persons are the heart of the museum.
When the group entered into a lease with the city in 2008, they were recipients of a structure that was badly in need of major repairs. Many changes had been made to the first floor. Office cubicles had been built on the apparatus floor. The apparatus doorway had been bricked shut; windows had been boarded up; the roof leaked; and there was three feet of water in the basement. Did I say the furnaces did not work? For the next two years members and volunteers would organize a clean-up and restoration that would include a new roof, new windows, restoring the apparatus floor, new glass block windows on the first floor, exterior tuck pointing, replacing the front apparatus door brick work with new apparatus doors, and installing three new furnaces. Much of this work was accomplished with donated labor and materials. Today the second floor awaits restoration so more of the fire history and memorabilia can be properly displayed.
When the HOIFEC group was greeted by retired District Division Chief (ret.) Jack Connors and his son Tim, now a CFD firefighter, the first thing that got our attention was old Engine 10, a 1928 Ahrens-Fox N-S-2 piston pumper. The rig carries serial number 3343, and it’s a beauty! The big pumper had a record of long service with the department starting as Engine 10. It later would serve as Engine 1, Engine 6, and Engine 4 before being retired some 33 year