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Excerpts from the ChicagoSunTimes.com:
Before computers and GPS, there was Kenneth F. Little. Mr. Little, 84, passed away on Friday in Glenview. He was a senior fire-alarm operator with the Chicago Fire Department, and it was said that he knew every street, alley, and shortcut in the city. This knowledge allowed him to get emergency vehicles to fires faster than anyone else.
Over his 36-year career, he saved countless lives, according to former Chicago Fire Commissioner James Joyce. “He had an incredible intuition about where the nearest fire companies were. He was truly remarkable, one of a kind.â€
Little co-authored six books on the history of the Chicago Fire Department and helped establish the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago. The museum has a library named in his honor. After a devastating fire swept through the Chicago City Council chambers in 1957, he received a commendation for remaining at his post, coordinating efforts with dispatchers from the old Fire Alarm Office.
His ingenuity once saved a famous Chicago German restaurant, Schulien’s, located at 2100 W. Irving Park Rd., according to his son, Philip Little, who is now the president of the fire museum. When a fire broke out at the restaurant, he quickly determined that a nearby Snorkel squad returning from another call would be the fastest responders. Instead of calling the usual fire companies, he directed those firefighters, who arrived at the scene in just 30 seconds and extinguished the flames efficiently.
Growing up in Old Town, young Ken Little would often hang around a local firehouse at North and Hudson, listening intently to radio calls. As he grew older, he explored the city by bus, streetcar, and elevated train (the L), visiting every firehouse in Chicago. He even traveled the length of Western Avenue, the city's longest street, getting off at various points to learn shortcuts and navigate one-way streets. Later, he studied factory layouts to warn firefighters about potential hazards like toxic chemicals stored in basements.
If the fire radio was silent, he and his fellow dispatchers would quiz each other on the names of every bar and grocery store along Western Avenue from Howard to 119th Street. This impressive knowledge made him a popular guest on overnight radio shows hosted by Eddie Schwartz.
When Ken joined the Chicago Fire Alarm Office in 1957, calls were still being dispatched from city hall and another office at 63rd and Wentworth. Some calls came in via the thousands of red, free-standing fire-alarm boxes scattered throughout the city—dating back to a time when not everyone had a phone.
He was acquainted with old-timers who were on duty during the 1903 Iroquois Theater fire, which claimed over 600 lives, as well as the 1910 Chicago Stockyards fire, where 22 firefighters lost their lives—the largest such loss until the 9/11 attacks. He also knew an operator who, in 1929, drove police officers to investigate a shooting on Clark Street that became infamous as the St. Valentine’s Day massacre. Additionally, he learned that slide-down fire poles were invented right here in Chicago.
During the infamous Blizzard of '67, he stayed in the office for 36 straight hours. “They couldn't get out, and no one could get in,†his son recalled.
Outside of firefighting, Ken was a history teacher at Wright College and enjoyed the music of Errol Garner. He also had a passion for collecting coins and Tootsietoys. A Tootsietoy fire truck will be placed in his casket.
He and his wife Alice, who passed away in 1986, had ten children together. Besides Philip, he is survived by daughters Anna, Rita, and Mary Ellen; sons Kenneth, Robert, Stephen, Richard, and Raymond; and four grandchildren. His son Thomas predeceased him.
A funeral mass is planned for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Michael’s Church, where he grew up, located at 1633 N. Cleveland Ave.
Thanks, Dan.