The Chicago Fire Department's deluge units are the stuff of legend, featured in classic videos. They're mostly out of service nowadays, except for one: Little Mo.
"It is the last of the big pieces of apparatus we have left, there used to be Big John, there used to be Big Mo, and now we have Little Mo," CFD Commander Dan Swift explains.
Firefighters decided to break out Little Mo Thursday morning, after the massive Bridgeport warehouse fire started to burn again.
They were worried that the ice-caked front wall could collapse. Little Mo lets firefighters spray water from farther away, keeping them safer. It's been around for more than 40 years, but firefighters still start it up a few times a week to make sure it runs. No one on the scene could remember the last time it was actually used.
"I've been on the job for 18 years, and it's never been out in my career," Swift says.
Little Mo is an old mac truck from the late 1960s, equipped with two turret water guns and room for up to ten hoses. It pumps up to 5,000 gallons of water a minute, compared to just 1,500 gallons a minute from an engine truck.
"It's one of a kind," Swift says of Little Mo. " It's the last one around, but obviously it's still useful, we can bring it out here today and still make good use of it."
So far, firefighters have poured more than a million gallons of water on that smoldering warehouse. That's enough to fill a pool as big as a football field ten feet deep.
Thursday, June 13 2013 1:45 PM EDT2013-06-13 17:45:09 GMT
Even a fire hydrant is feeling the Blackhawks spirit, especially after Chicago's midnight victory over the Boston Bruins at the United Center in triple overtime.
Even a fire hydrant is feeling the Blackhawks spirit, especially after Chicago's midnight victory over the Boston Bruins at the United Center in triple overtime.
Monday, February 25 2013 1:41 PM EST2013-02-25 18:41:37 GMT
Just as Oscar host Seth MacFarlane set his sights on a variety of targets with a mixture of hits and misses, the motion picture academy spread the gold around to a varied slate of films.
Just as Oscar host Seth MacFarlane set his sights on a variety of targets with a mixture of hits and misses, the motion picture academy spread the gold around to a varied slate of films.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 8:54 PM EDT2013-06-20 00:54:40 GMT
A man previously convicted of sex trafficking in Cook County has been charged again, this time for allegedly kidnapping a Minnesota woman and bringing her to Chicago to work in the sex trade.
A man previously convicted of sex trafficking in Cook County has been charged again, this time for allegedly kidnapping a Minnesota woman and bringing her to Chicago to work in the sex trade.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 8:46 PM EDT2013-06-20 00:46:42 GMT
Nine Lafayette Elementary parents and students have occupied a Lafayette Elementary school classroom, in a sit-in style protest against the school's closing.
Nine Lafayette Elementary parents and students have occupied a Lafayette Elementary school classroom, in a sit-in style protest against the school's closing.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 6:54 PM EDT2013-06-19 22:54:41 GMT
Nine students at a Near North Side bilingual public elementary school were hospitalized Wednesday afternoon after a student accidentally discharged pepper spray.
Nine students at a Near North Side bilingual public elementary school were hospitalized Wednesday afternoon after a student accidentally discharged pepper spray.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 4:27 PM EDT2013-06-19 20:27:06 GMT
Now that obesity has been officially classified as a disease by the AMA, many are wondering how this will affect the 35.7 percent of Americans who are described as obese.
Now that obesity has been officially classified as a disease by the AMA, many are wondering how this will affect the 35.7 percent of Americans who are described as obese.
