This is one magnificent book and well worth the price! It is hard cover, measuring 8 ½ inches by 11 inches and has 320 pages. It resembles the history books and year books that were put out about a number of Fire Departments
The Chicago Fire Patrol was a fleet of salvage trucks supported by fire insurance companies. Their primary job was to throw waterproof salvage covers over furniture and other items that had value. These actions would preserve important and expensive contents from water and smoke damage, which would in turn save money for the insurance companies by keeping damage to a minimum. As the reader will see, these patrol members also helped the Chicago Fire Department in firefighting and fireground support, when their primary initial responsibilities were taken care of.
Mr. Seafield’s grandfather was a captain in the Patrol and he, Seafield owns one of the patrol vehicles which was one that his grandfather rode on.
The book is dedicated to Captain Mike Kinsch. There is a group of acknowledgements and the Forward by Hal Bruno, whom you probably know from Firehouse magazine. These are followed by 48 pages of flawless color photos showing salvage apparatus, fire scenes, the 1958 Thrill Show, patrol stations, equipment, the training classrooms, helmets, buttons and badges as well as some group pictures and one of Chief Fred Kempf. One of the salvage trucks eventually operated as a salvage and rescue unit in the Skokie, Illinois FD and a photo of it is included
There are 14 chapters starting with what a fire patrol was and what its functions were. An alarm response rundown is included in this chapter. Pages’ 7 through 59 cover the history of the patrol. Chapter 3 is totally dedicated the Patrol 4 which was the last one to be fire insurance financed. Patrol 4 was also kind of different because they had a bear. It belonged to one of the captains and lives at the station. Imagine yourself getting into the station and getting a greeting from “Pety” (page 66.) I was once with a group of fire photographers and other buffs who entered the quarters of Snorkel Squad 1 once when the company got dispatched before we could introduce ourselves. The crew told us to wait in the station until they got back and we found out they had two very large dogs as pets. Needless to say we were petrified by them and did not move around much until the company returned! Other chapters address company chronicles, line of duty deaths, chiefs and memoirs of some of the members in their own words. Two chapters are devoted to their repair shops and their school. There’s a 25 page chapter of the patrol in action both on the inside and the outside. One of the fires involved a church. Chapter 11 is a photo gallery of group pictures, some apparatus, photos of individual patrolmen and the watch desk area with the register. There are 21 pages of the rigs they used through the years including those with open bodies and those with closed ones as well as some chief cars. These photos are in black and white. Chapter 13 is all about documents used and the last chapter is about the initial organization of the Century of Progress Fire Department, the agency given the responsibility of the World’s Fair in Chicago, 1933-1934. There is an eight page report from the Chief Public Protection Division as well as photos of chiefs and other members. The equipment used includes a Lagoon Patrol boat which was a row boat with outboard motor. An appendix includes cover work at fires, water removal from structures and covering roofs.
Neither author lives in Chicago today. Keith Seafield is a Lieutenant with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and Mike Pack, who grew up in Chicago and had an avid interest in the CFD and the Patrol is the Chief of the Southside Place, TX Fire Department.
This book is a must for buffs of all interests. As of February 23, 2009 when this book was sent to me there were a little more than 500 copies left. Initially 1000 were printed, so if you are interested you must act quickly.
