This is from Steve Redick:
Here's a real classic story that goes along with it.The fire happened in January 1981 at the Pavilion Apartments, located at 5431 N East River Road. I had only been on the job for less than a year and I lived in the building—two floors above where the fire started. Back then, I was still pretty much a fire fan, and I was riding on Schaumburg Truck 1 that day. Around dinner time, one of the guys asked me, “Hey, don’t you live in that high-rise on River Road? The city has a 2-11 going on, 5431 I think.â€I’ve spent so many days and nights in different firehouses over the years, and I know how the “fan†gets treated with all kinds of jokes. So I just smiled and said, “Yeah, right.†But he wasn’t joking—he said, “No, seriously, it’s a bad fire in your building.†I responded with something like, “You think I was born yesterday?!†He said, “Okay, suit yourself,†and I went back to my meal, thinking nothing more of it.We were sitting around the table eating and watching the news when I saw it on TV—fire blowing out two floors below my apartment and even reaching my balcony! Holy cow! I almost choked on my pork chop. The same guy who told me earlier said, “I told you so, you stubborn German *&%*&$!†Lesson learned. When I got home the next morning (you didn’t really think I’d skip a night at the station, did you?), my poor cat was completely shocked, and my whole apartment was covered in soot. I even saw some boot prints on my door from the search team. In the end, we had a good cleanup, and everything turned out okay.A few notes about the voices you’ll hear on the recording. Most of the time, the fire alarm operator was Al Andersen. He and I started on the job together, and he’s since retired. You’ll also hear Dick Hyland, a former boss and senior operator at the time—now passed away. Phil McMahon, the assistant chief, also long gone, can be heard briefly. And there’s Louis Galante, who later became fire commissioner, giving orders as 2112. Unfortunately, Louis recently passed away too.This fire took place during the tenure of William Blair, the controversial “transplant†from Los Angeles. He was involved in an accident on his way to the scene, and I don’t think he or his driver ever actually made it to the fire.It was nice to come across this memory, but it makes me realize I’m getting a bit too old for all this modern fire department stuff these days.Steve
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