John Tobin photo
John Tobin photo
Excerpts from theDailyHerald.com:
On February 23, 1973, a fire broke out at the Ben Franklin five-and-dime store in Palatine. For John Tobin, a high school senior at the time, it was a day that would leave a lasting impact. He lived just a mile away from downtown and had no choice but to skip school when he heard the news. His father, Dave, was already on his way to the scene as a volunteer firefighter, and so was the assistant chief, who lived just across the street.
Tobin ran toward the fire, where he saw the towering 75-foot Snorkel ladder truck from 1969. But nothing could have prepared him for what he witnessed that morning. As he stood in shock, he overheard a firefighter say that three others were trapped in the basement. The horror of the situation hit him hard.
In his rush to get to the fire, Tobin forgot his camera. He ran home to retrieve it, only to return and see his father working outside the burning building, safe. It wasn’t until hours later that he learned the full story—three firefighters, Warren Ahlgrim, Richard Freeman, and John Wilson, had been killed after being overcome by carbon monoxide in the basement.
That day changed everything for Tobin. Over the years, he couldn’t shake the image of the Snorkel truck. He learned it had been sold to Salem, Illinois, in 1981, then moved to Pierceton, Indiana. In 2003, he made a stop in Salem while driving home from a convention, only to find it had already been relocated again. Determined, he visited Pierceton and began tracking it down.
In 2023, when officials in Pierceton were ready to sell the old truck, Tobin reached out. He offered $5,000, and they accepted. “This is my childhood idol,†he said. Now, the truck is being restored at the Bartlett Fire Department, where Tobin is working to polish the paint, fix the lights, and create a tribute to the fallen firefighters.
On Tuesday, the restored truck returned to downtown Palatine, exactly where it had stood 43 years ago, during the annual memorial service at the Firefighters Memorial. Afterward, Tobin plans to keep the truck in a barn on his property in West Dundee, preserving its legacy for future generations.
Thanks Dan
The Ben Franklin store fire killed three Palatine firefighters. John Tobin photo
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