Old Chicago 5-11 Photo

[Guest]

As another followup to the photos I sent last week....I was able to get some decent shots of the fireboat at the 5-11..Interesting sidelight...as this fire was raging outta control and there was no real access from the river portion of the building a call went out for the one remaining fireboat we had in service...However they had been "banished" to 127th and the Calumet River..the thought was it would place them near some key hazards....Well as fate had it they were desperately needed at this fire. By the time they arrived most of the building was in ruins and they basically operated on a big rubbish fire....Shortly after this job they were brought back to the berth at Navy Pier, and the winter berth at the Franklin Orleans bridge. Another interesting note..we all climbed out onto a gravel barge that was tied up near the boat..we crawled over the cargo and got great shots..HOWEVER...the curent in the river changed and the barge moved away from the dock by about 10 feet and we were stranded....luckily the current shifted again and with some difficulty we scrambled back to shore..a little wiser for next time!!


Steve