Hi Phil, I hope you're doing well. I wanted to share another piece of history about the Evanston Fire Department. It's fascinating how things unfolded during those times. Interestingly enough, there weren't any major fires in Evanston during the World War II years. The volunteer Evanston Auxiliary Fire Service, established in June 1942 with Auxiliary Truck Company 3 at Fire Station #3 and Auxiliary Engine Company 7 at Station #4, never had to be deployed. By 1944, the EAFS was disbanded after Engine Company 7's 1917 Seagrave 300-GPM chemical and hose booster-pumper (formerly Engine 3) broke down during a training session and couldn't be fixed. The older members of the department really felt the strain from the manpower shortage caused by young firefighters being drafted into the military. Some were called up almost immediately after being hired. This also affected potential recruits on the civil service lists who either joined the military or were drafted before they could join the EFD. A lot of long-standing members became demoralized or sick due to being forced to work overtime for straight-time compensatory days they couldn't use because of the war. Capt. Anthony Steigelman, a 29-year veteran, passed away at 57 after a long illness in June 1944. Capt. Henry Tesnow retired after 30 years, Lt. Ed Newton after 34 years, and Master Fire Equipment Mechanic J.K. "Karl" Wilen after 21 years. Firefighters like Lawrence Ahrens (24 years), Frank Altenberg (28 years), Jerry Moriarty (25 years), Herman Peters (21 years), and Herman Windelborn (24 years) also retired that year. Lt. Jim Geishecker, who would later become chief, was promoted to captain and took over Capt. Steigelman's position at Engine Co. 1. Lt. Frank Sherry became captain and replaced Capt. Tesnow at Engine Co. 2. Firemen William Murphy, William Rohrer, and Edward C. Fahrbach were promoted to lieutenant. It's worth noting there were two Edward Fahrbachs in the EFD in the '20s and '30s—Edward C. and the older Edward G. Truck Co. 1's Lt. William Elliott, a 21-year veteran, died at 43 while off-duty in January 1945. Ed Hanrahan, the chief's buggy driver, was then promoted to lieutenant. In 1946, Lt. John Reddick retired after 22 years, and Jim Mersch was promoted to lieutenant. With Lt. Schmidt in Berlin, chief's buggy driver and future EFD chief Lester Breitzman was promoted to lieutenant and took over Lt. Schmidt's roles at Engine Co. 1 and as administrative assistant to Chief Hofstetter in 1947. Between 1945 and 1947, firefighters Herman Godeman (21 years), John M. Mersch (40 years), Michael Olk (22 years), John Balmes (34 years), Harry Nelson (disability pension after 18 years), Lou Morgan (20 years), Charles Lapp (20 years), Harold Anderson (20 years), George Wilson (20 years), William Brundage (23 years), George Paugels (25 years), and Fred Godeman (27 years) retired. This left the EFD critically short-staffed. Even though the war years saw fewer major fires, there was a significant blaze at the iconic Rood Building at Fountain Square in downtown Evanston on February 15, 1946, just months after the war ended. Built in 1895, this four-story building with cupolas, gables, and turrets was mostly empty and set for demolition when it caught fire. Despite the low occupancy, a high-value district response (three engines and a truck), a second alarm (one engine and one truck), and recall of the off-duty platoon were necessary to put out the fire and protect adjacent buildings to the north. The building still carried $46,000 in fire insurance, which made the timing of the fire curious. There wasn't much inside to save, and no one needed rescuing, so the firefighting effort turned defensive quickly. At its peak, all four engines pumped water from nearby hydrants, and both Truck Companies 1 and 2 used elevated master streams from their aerial ladders to douse the former roof and attic of the Rood Building with tens of thousands of gallons of water. As usual for an extra-alarm fire in the downtown area, Engine Co. 4 moved to Station #1 to cover the city until the off-duty platoon arrived. Off-duty firefighters from Engine Co. 2 manned reserve Engine No. 6 at Station #2, and those from Engine Co. 3 operated reserve Truck No. 3 at Station #3. The off-duty platoon from Station #1 walked to the fire to relieve workers, given its proximity. During the war, due to the production of military vehicles, police cars and fire chief's cars were scarce between 1942 and 1945. Once the war ended, car manufacturers resumed production, allowing departments to update their fleets. In 1946, the EFD bought two new Ford sedans to replace the old 1936-37 models. Chief Hofstetter received a Ford Deluxe Fordor sedan, and the Fire Prevention Bureau got a Ford Deluxe Tudor sedan. Take care, [Your Name]

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