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From Phil Stenholm:
Another chapter unfolds detailing the fascinating **History of the Evanston Fire Department**.
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Back in 1986, with lukewarm support for the proposed Fire Station Relocation Plan, the renowned Rand Corporation was brought in by the Evanston City Council to independently analyze the Evanston Fire Department (EFD) and suggest improvements to response times for both structure fires and EMS calls. The council specified that Fire Stations #2 and #4 were non-negotiable, but the relocation of Stations #1, #3, and/or #5 was open for discussion.
After thorough research, Rand pinpointed two critical square-mile zones with the highest incidence of fires and emergency calls. One zone spanned from Howard Street to Main Street, bordered by Lake Michigan, with a "hotspot" near Oakton and Custer—Station #2's primary coverage area. The other stretched from Dempster Street to the Metropolitan Sanitary District canal, flanked by Emerson and Asbury Streets, with its hotspot near Emerson and Dodge. Interestingly, while the downtown area saw many EMS calls, it didn't experience frequent structural fires.
Rand confirmed that Station #2 effectively served the southeastern quadrant of Evanston. However, the farthest intersections from a fire station in 1986—Church & Pitner, Emerson & Hartrey, and Foster & Grey—all fell within these high-risk areas. Naturally, Rand recommended relocating Station #1 to Lake & Ashland and merging Stations #3 and #5 into a new station at Ashland & Noyes. This move promised faster response times for the 5th Ward while slightly increasing response times in the downtown area and northwest Evanston.
Rand also suggested keeping the "jump ambulance" at Station #2, with Truck Co. 22 personnel filling in as needed. They recommended placing two full-service MICU ambulances at the new Station #1 at Lake & Ashland and the new Station #3 at Ashland & Noyes. Although Rand didn’t advocate for an ambulance at Station #4, the EFD chiefs insisted on maintaining a full crew of five firefighters at each station.
With Rand’s report recommending new stations at 1500 Lake Street and 2210 Ashland Avenue, the plan seemed poised for execution. However, EFD leadership disagreed with some of Rand’s deployment suggestions, deciding to move the second engine proposed for Station #1 to Station #3 and place ambulances at Stations #3 and #4 instead of #1 and #3.
Just as political pushback derailed plans for a new Station #2 at Kamen Park, fierce opposition to the Ashland & Noyes station emerged after the report’s release. Residents in northwest Evanston, particularly the High Ridge area north of Crawford and Gross Point Road, feared longer response times if the closest station moved. Their concern grew when Wilmette Station #27 at 747 Illinois Road could reach their area in just two to three minutes. Unfortunately, no automatic aid agreement was proposed between Wilmette and Evanston, likely due to lack of reciprocity.
In 1987, Ambulance 2 shifted from Station #1 to Station #4, and the city council approved rebuilding Station #4 and remodeling Station #2. Discussions for new stations stalled thereafter.
The rebuilt Station #4 opened in 1989 at the original site on Maple Avenue for $643,000, while Station #2 underwent extensive renovations in 1990 to accommodate female firefighters and expand apparatus space. In 1991, Truck Co. 21 moved from Station #1 to Station #3, rebranding as Truck Co. 23.
With a refurbished station in southwest Evanston and Truck Co. 23 operational, newly appointed Fire Chief James Hunt proposed relocating Station #1 about a mile northwest to a vacant gas station lot at the corner of Emerson & Wesley. This location bridged the proposed stations at Lake & Ashland and Ashland & Noyes.
Under Chief Hunt’s proposal, Stations #3 and #5 would remain intact, allowing Engine 21 to cover the eastern half of Engine 23’s district while Engine 25 handled the west. This mirrored earlier plans from 1984, converting Station #1 at 909 Lake Street into a headquarters with administrative offices, training facilities, and storage.
Though downtown merchants and lakefront residents opposed moving Station #1, the plan gained widespread approval from the 5th, 6th, and 7th Wards. Construction delays, however, pushed back completion of the new Station #1 at Emerson & Wesley until February 1998, with costs skyrocketing from $1.2 million to $2.2 million. Similarly, converting the old Station #1 into headquarters faced setbacks, forcing administrative offices to operate out of cramped leased space on Dodge Avenue for several years.
This saga reflects how even the best-laid plans can encounter resistance and unforeseen challenges—but ultimately, the community’s safety prevailed.