"Chicago's paramedics face extremely dangerous situations every day on every shift. These dangers are often unforeseen and unpredictable. With Chicago not only being a national but an international destination, we must be prepared to respond to any and all emergencies."

The decision to strip paramedics of equipment bought just for them was announced in a May 4 memo signed by Assistant Deputy Fire Commissioner Mark Nielsen, who runs the Bureau of Operations.

Each firefighter is assigned two air tanks, that typically last 10 to 15 minutes each, Corcoran said. The department has six air compressors at stations around the city to refill the firefighter's tanks.

The department's main compressor broke last February, Corcoran said. Five smaller compressors also broke one-by-one.

Ten days ago, the final compressor broke.

The city and Parma reached an agreement to let Cleveland firefighters fill up their air truck at the Parma Fire Department, but that agreement fell through, Corcoran said.

Now, firefighters have to drive to Valley View Fire Department to fill their tank up. That process takes four hours, Corcoran said.

The new mini-pumper and tanker replace two vehicles from 1974 and 1979 and are the first completely new fire fighting units the department has seen since it began operating 41 years ago.

The custom designed equipment, which cost north of $500,000, was paid for with funding from the Peace River Agreement, Encana Corp., Saddle Hills County and funds raised by the fire department itself.