South Side Community Organizations Say the Chicago Fire Department Needs More Life Saving Apparatus Like Tower Ladder 34
South Side Community Organizations Say the Chicago Fire Department Needs More Life Saving Apparatus Like Tower Ladder 34
Concerned Residents Say They Will Not Allow Politics or Budgets to Remove Their Special Tower Ladder from Engine Co. 72
Concern citizens from neighborhoods serviced by Tower Ladder 34, a specialized lifesaving apparatus housed at Engine Company 72 in the city’s South Shore neighborhood, are banning together to extinguish a burning issue inside the Chicago Fire Department (CFD}.
On Thursday, Feb. 25, at 10:30 AM, they will hold a rally and press conference across the street from fire station, located at 7982 S. Chicago Ave., because they do not want the tower ladder that has saved many lives and properties over the past 30 years moved from its current location. Public safety, they say, is at stake in the city’s busiest fire house which covers hundreds of thousands of residents in approximately six wards.
Any day now, Capt. Wayne Spires, who heads Tower Ladder 34, is expecting a call from CFD’s top brass informing him that it is time for Tower Ladder 34 to be disassembled. Every time, the red Marshall line located on the white cement block wall in the station’s small eating area rings, the anxiety heightens.
Tower Ladder 34, which went into service in 1987, is more than a regular fire truck.
The apparatus is highly effective in battling fires in multistory buildings. With ladders that reach 100 feet and the ability to tap into an unlimited water supply, the tower ladders, or platform trucks, are ideal for the 18-member crew at Engine 72, which responds to fire alarms in industrial districts, heavily populated high rises, shopping plazas, and clusters of single-family homes that line many South Side streets. The baskets on the tower ladder also provide extra support for panicky-stricken occupants trapped inside burning buildings, because they can easily maneuver onto a stable platform rather than jumping out of widows, or roof tops or nervously stepping onto slim ladders.
“We need the tower ladder where it is currently located,” said prominent community leader Andrew Holmes. “The tower ladder serves a heavily populated area where there are many seniors. What is the reason for moving the tower ladder? They have no legitimate reason. With the tower ladder, we are saving lives. If they remove the tower ladder, they are showing us that saving lives are not important to them. Leave the tower ladder where it is because this is what the residents want and what they need.”
Faheem Shabazz, the founder of Black Men United Correlation, agrees, saying his organization does not understand why CFD would take the rare fire apparatus from the community. There are only 10 tower ladders in Chicago, including one at O’Hare International Airport. Plus, Tower Ladder 34 has been No. 1 in fire duty (responding to fires and time on task) for the past 30 years.
“The decision does not make a lot of sense in terms of what the community needs,” said Mr. Shabazz, who lives about a mile from the station and is the brother of a firefighter. “We don’t understand why it is going away, especially after a fire fighter lost his life nearly a decade ago when a roof collapsed at 75th and Stoney Island Ave. That incident made me really want to get involved in saving this special piece of equipment when it is proven to save lives.”
Captain Spires, who joined the fire department in 1990, following the footsteps of his older brother, along with several members of his team and community leaders cite many reasons why the tower ladder must remain at its current location, 7982 S. Chicago Ave.
During the social unrest that erupted in Chicago on May 31, 2020, a Dollar Tree, located in a plaza at S. 95th Street and Jeffrey Avenue, was set ablaze and Tower Ladder 34 was the first on the scene. There is video footage on social media showing the tower ladder positioned high above roof, helping to extinguish the massive blaze. The Tower Ladder 34 crew helped stop the blaze from consuming the entire strip mall, but, more importantly, they prevented it from spreading to adjacent homes.
During a radio interview one recent Sunday, Captain Spires was addressed by a caller who said, “I remember you guys.” A woman named Susan spoke about Tower Ladder 34 responding to a fire raging violently from a 13-story high-rise at E. 67th Street and S. Lake Shore Drive in 2013. She said her uncle was trapped on the fifth floor, because the stairwells were fully engulfed in flames. While several people died in the blaze, he survived because the crew was able to set the basket up to the balcony, allowing him to escape.
In 2016, a courtyard apartment complex in the 8100 block of S. Essex Avenue was on fire after a disgruntled boyfriend torched the stairwell. When Tower Ladder 34 arrived, some residents were trapped in the building, while others prepared to jump from the structure. Because it is equipped with a stable basket, some people stepped onto the platform and were maneuvered safely the street. Four other people, including three sisters, were not so fortunate and more than a dozen others were injured in the blaze.
Then, there was the rescue of a 30-year-old worker who was dangling from a 10-story cell tower at 77th and S. State Street in December of 2014. The man was frostbitten, but he survived the ordeal after being rescued by Tower Ladder 34, which involved placing him gently in the basket and transporting him to other emergency personnel on the ground.
“I was raised in this area,” said Captain Spires, who is on his third tour on Tower Ladder 34, becoming captain in 2016. “I have a lot of love and compassion for this community. I still have the family home I was raised in. When I go out on these runs every day, there are people I know personally. I might see somebody I know from kindergarten or high school. These are reasons why this apparatus must stay at the current location, 7982 S. Chicago Ave. Fires spread every 30 seconds and the tower ladders reduce the response time to addressing emergencies. I cannot allow the safety of our community to be in jeopardy.”
Retired CFD Captain James Winbush said the bottom line is that the Chicago Fire Department must provide its fire stations with better life saving equipment. Budget and politics can no longer be an excuse, especially in sections of the city where more lives are lost to fires, like the African American community.
“You just can’t close the gap by playing checkers with this kind of equipment,” said Winbush, who is a major advocate for fairness and equality in the CFD. “Tower Ladder 34 is ideally located. It is on a six-way intersection and S. Chicago Avenue is one of several major arteries designed by the architects of the city to allow a speedy access across the city before there were expressways. This is especially useful for firefighting. If the CFD needs more tower ladders, they need to purchase more tower ladders. You cannot rob Peter to save Paul. In the case, the CFD is sticking up Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. You cannot keep doing this with this equipment. Politics and budgets cannot come before public safety.”
Marilyn Cannon, a member of South Deering Manor Community Association, stated that the influential South Side neighborhood association has decided to join the campaign to block moving Tower Ladder 34 from the location at 7982 S. Chicago Ave., because Tower Ladder 34 is committed to community public safety. Ms. Cannon believes Mayor Lori Lightfoot needs to intervene and settle the matter.
“The mayor promised equitable resources across all neighborhoods,” Cannon said. “She promised that. When you are now moving the tower ladder from the department that has the most runs, you are not committed to the promise of equitable resources. And that is why the community is committed to putting out this fire, because we are not going to let a budget, inside politics or anything place the safety of our neighborhoods in jeopardy. We will put this fire out by making sure that Tower Ladder 34 stays at this location, 7982 S. Chicago Ave., to save lives.”
Rally and Press Event Scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 25, at 10:30 AM
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