On Monday April 1, 2026, CFD battled a fire at 74th and Yates in South Shore, the Battalion Chief declared an extra alarm and requested a tower ladder.

The closest tower ladder available across the entire city was located at Grace and Damen.

This ladder traveled 156 blocks — some TWENTY MILES — to respond to the extra alarm.

Of the ten tower ladders in Chicago, 5, 10, 16, 24, 39, and 54, all are out of service. At the moment, only four tower ladders are in service, TLs 14, 21, 23, and 63, all of which are stationed on the North and West Sides of the city.

This leaves the whole of the South Side of Chicago —which unfortunately experiences a higher number of fires — without sufficient equipment to fight large-scale fires.

This shortage of equipment is inexcusable and undeniably imperils residents whose taxes pay for fire protection.

This equipment shortage also creates dangerous conditions for CFD called on to fight fires.