Images from Dave Fornell’s collection showcasing Chicago’s Ford C-Series Ward LaFrance fire engines.
The Ward/Ford canopy pumpers were delivered in late 1969. A total of ten units were ordered, and these were the only WardLaFrance/Ford canopy pumpers ever delivered to the Chicago Fire Department (CFD). There were also several non-canopy Ward/Fords, as well as a number of Pierce/Ford, E-One/Ford, and even a few Seagrave/Ford canopy pumpers supplied to the department.
The WardLaFrance/Fords were assigned to some of the busiest companies in the city, where they endured heavy use. All of them came equipped with rear-mounted winches and were built on Ford C-8000 chassis with a 175-inch wheelbase. Later models from E-One and Pierce had shorter 153-inch wheelbases, largely due to the smaller size of their canopy seating areas.
During that time, apparatus orders were often distributed among vendors with strong political connections. For these rigs, Schuster Equipment was the designated supplier. Pierces and Seagraves came from Illinois FWD Truck and Equipment in Rosemont, which was owned by Ray Schuster — yes, the brother of the owner of Schuster Equipment. Later E-One units were supplied by Able Fire and Safety.
The photos show the following:
The first image is a side view of one of the rigs undergoing acceptance testing near McCormick Place on the lake.
Engine 19's rig is shown shortly after delivery, parked in front of its station.
As the years passed, Engine 95 and Engine 61 are seen in front of their respective stations.
Note that Engine 95 was operating with 150 feet of 3-inch supply line, with 100 feet carried on top of the driver’s side compartments and the remaining 50 feet in the hose bed. This setup was an early version of the 150-foot 4-inch lines now commonly mounted on the front bumpers of modern Chicago rigs.
One photo captures this evolution — which was not standard in the CFD at the time — being used during a junkyard fire on the West Side in the late 1970s.
The image of Engine 19 shows it in action at a fire in 1977, featuring a three-compartment body on the driver’s side. According to local lore, a wealthy lawyer crashed into the engine, and the insurance payout was enough for 3D Metals in Wisconsin to replace the original body.
All of the 1969 Ward/Fords had the same two-compartment body on each side. Later E-One, Seagrave, and Pierce units featured half-height compartments stacked above the lower ones.
These rigs marked the end of the line for Ward/Ford fire engines in the CFD.
Capt. Dave
Dave Fornell collection
Dave Fornell collection
Dave Fornell collection
Dave Fornell collection
Dave Fornell collection
Dave Fornell collection
Dave Fornell collection
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