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From Phil Stenholm:
Another chapter unfolds about the fascinating **History of the Evanston Fire Department**.
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Hey everyone,
Just got back from chatting with some old-timers at the firehouse, and I wanted to share something really interesting about how things worked back in the day. KSC732 is officially on the air! In June 1952, the Evanston Fire Department (EFD) invested $13,000 in brand-new two-way FM radios. These were installed in both the fire stations and most of the department's vehicles. The money came from the 1951 bond issue, but there were initial hiccups—interference from a local taxi company. Thankfully, Motorola engineers sorted it out pretty quickly.
After the installation, the 20-series prefix was introduced in 1952 to avoid confusion with other departments sharing the same frequency. So Engine 1 became Engine 21, Truck 2 turned into Truck 22, and so on. The new combo pumper/rescue squad? They called it Squad 21. Chief Henry Dorband kept his trusty old call sign, F-1, which he'd been using since he got his two-way equipped Mercury back in 1951.
Evanston wasn't alone on this frequency. We shared it with Wilmette, Winnetka, Northfield, Glencoe, and Highland Park. Unlike Chicago’s big repeater setup, we didn’t have those fancy gadgets. That meant occasional overlap issues when one department’s signal accidentally bumped into another’s.
Now here’s a fun fact: When the Evanston Police Department’s base station went live in 1951, it got the FCC call sign KSA580. A year later, the fire department’s base station earned KSC732. Each station had its own unique identifier too—Station #1 was "KSC732—the desk," Station #2 was KSC733, and so forth. But when Station #5 opened in 1955, it snagged KSD841.
Twice daily, at 8 AM and 8 PM, the radios were tested. Stations would respond with their FCC-assigned call signs. If there was an emergency or major incident underway, the test could wait—or even get skipped entirely.
Every company officer had to stay on top of the status of their peers. For instance, if Engine Co. 24 needed to know if Engine Co. 23 was available, they’d announce it over the air. Acknowledging changes required calling out your station's call sign. Sometimes just the last three digits sufficed.
Back then, the police and fire dispatch consoles sat upstairs near the stairs connecting the police station to Fire Station #1. Later, they moved downstairs, closer to the complaints desk, right across from Station #1. Both departments relied on civilian communication operators supervised by a police sergeant. Fun fact: Half their pay came from the police budget, half from the fire budget. Until 1975, these operators were always men, often retired cops or firefighters. Being able to multitask, speak clearly, and remember details mattered way more than typing speed.
Fire calls, inhalator runs, and non-emergency details all went out over the EFD radio. Operators handled fire and medical calls while someone at the desk at Station #1 announced routine tasks like lock-outs or odor investigations. Before every announcement, including the twice-daily tests, there was a distinctive four-second horn tone. It was kind of like ringing a bell—it couldn’t be stopped mid-blast and cut through everything else. There were only two buttons for activating it—one in the police radio room and one at Station #1.
Here’s the kicker: The dispatcher didn’t assign companies to calls. Instead, they’d announce the type of call, its location, and the time, followed by the EFD call sign. Then it was open season—any company due to respond would chime in over the radio. It was up to the platoon commander to ensure the right teams acknowledged and rolled out.
This old-school system stayed intact until 1982. Crazy, right?
Take care,
Phil