Firehouse Sirens - are they really necessary?

[CI_represents]

I am a resident of Central Islip and the firehouse nearby is REALLY busy. The siren goes off all day and all night - PS: thanks guys for doing a great job of protecting my community.

Anyway, I was just wondering, from my uninformed position, it would seem that in this day and age of digital technology, cell phones and more, why do we need a siren any more? The volunteers know where the firehouse is. I am just a little bewildered as to why we need to alert the entire neighborhood every time there is an emergency.

This post is not meant as a criticism or in a mean way, I am genuinely perplexed.

Can someone offer some sort of explanation?

Thanks for doing the toughest job on earth!!!

[Sirens]

Our town only blows the whistle for possible true emergencies, ie house fires, car accidents with entrapments, etc. Automatic alarms and EMS calls the whistle isn't blown anymore. Our fireman have an alpha numeric pager system as well as a portable radio which alerts our bravest. Although, it was a struggle to disengage the whistle about 10 years ago. Many verteran members still think that a more active response will be had with a whistle blowing.

[Nassau Firefighter]

I am a resident of Central Islip and the firehouse nearby is REALLY busy. The siren goes off all day and all night - PS: thanks guys for doing a great job of protecting my community.

Anyway, I was just wondering, from my uninformed position, it would seem that in this day and age of digital technology, cell phones and more, why do we need a siren any more? The volunteers know where the firehouse is. I am just a little bewildered as to why we need to alert the entire neighborhood every time there is an emergency.

This post is not meant as a criticism or in a mean way, I am genuinely perplexed.

Can someone offer some sort of explanation?

Thanks for doing the toughest job on earth!!!

While those sirens can be noisy and annoying they help lowwer your fire insurance rate as part of the ISO ratings that the insurance industry uses to decide how much to charge you. The LOWER the ISO number your department has the cheaper your insurance will be. Having audible sirens to alert the firefighters goes towards lowering the ISO rating.

Other things that affect the ISO rating are, number of firehouses, number of pumpers and their GPM (Gallons per Minute) rating and other trucks and equipment. Another thing is the water supply in your district also affects the rating too.

Hope this was helpful, you can find more at http://www.iso.com/ to help you learn more.

[CI_represents]

Wow. The stuff we don't know as home owners! This is really interesting.

[Unregistered987]

I am a resident of Central Islip and the firehouse nearby is REALLY busy. The siren goes off all day and all night - PS: thanks guys for doing a great job of protecting my community.

Anyway, I was just wondering, from my uninformed position, it would seem that in this day and age of digital technology, cell phones and more, why do we need a siren any more? The volunteers know where the firehouse is. I am just a little bewildered as to why we need to alert the entire neighborhood every time there is an emergency.

Sorry they did not answer you directly. As with cell phones, pagers do not work in many areas. The siren is more used when full crews, for real emergencies are needed. In districts where they have their own dispatchers, they can determine on a call by call basis, what requires a siren at what time etc. I am often outdoors and the siren makes me look at my phone which may-or may not get a text message re an alarm. Often, I don't know why, the text is delayed minutes, or even hours. More cell/radio towers would really help, but people think they are ugly or cause brain issues and often vote NIMBY. It wakes us up too, we all live in our districts.

This post is not meant as a criticism or in a mean way, I am genuinely perplexed.

Can someone offer some sort of explanation?

Thanks for doing the toughest job on earth!!!
a

[Unregistered10987]

Sorry they did not answer you directly. As with cell phones, pagers do not work in many areas. The siren is more used when full crews, for real emergencies are needed. In districts where they have their own dispatchers, they can determine on a call by call basis, what requires a siren at what time etc. I am often outdoors and the siren makes me look at my phone which may-or may not get a text message re an alarm. Often, I don't know why, the text is delayed minutes, or even hours. More cell/radio towers would really help, but people think they are ugly or cause brain issues and often vote NIMBY. It wakes us up too, we all live in our districts.

[my 2 sense]

Sirens are in fact a vital backup to alerting firefighters of an alarm. My BOFC has cancelled the use of sirens for all alarms except structure fires. Also they limit the noon sirens to M-W-F. Any officer in charge or dispatcher can utilize the siren at thier discretion. I cant say i disagree with the move, however as a chief I was responding to an alarm that I recieved via text message. The tones were not activating for some reason. I instructed the dispatcher to sound the siren and got the required response from the members. My department only activates from 0600-1800 Mon-Sat.

[goldmember88]

They are vital in areas where schools are. This gives crossing guards a chance to control the intersection several minutes before fire apparatus approach the area.

[CI_represents]

Thanks for all your great comments. It has really given me a new perspective on the need for the audible alarm. It seems that technology is not always reliable (as we all know) and when we are talking about lives, we just can't take that risk. Thanks for being there!

[Unregistered411]

Thanks for all your great comments. It has really given me a new perspective on the need for the audible alarm. It seems that technology is not always reliable (as we all know) and when we are talking about lives, we just can't take that risk. Thanks for being there!

Stop blowing smoke. They do not need to blown for every signal alarm. Hell they don 't even need to be blown for a working fire. The pagers work fine, They scream sirens becuase they like to toot there own horn. Lets face it, they only go off btwn 5-1800. Well what happens at 2am. If its so vital they would be going off at 2am as well. There are plenty of departments out there that do not blow the air siren unless its has to be. Like at 12noon for a test. Or when the sh#$ hits the fan.

[SMART GUY]

Sirens are esential during day hours when volunteers may be doing outside activities where they are not carrying their pagers. As an example, in the pool, working in the yard with loud equiptment. Believe it or not, some volunteers do not have that pager strapped to their sides 24/7. My pager generally stays in the house unless I expect to be outside for an extended period of time. If I run outside to move the sprinkler or take out the garbage I don't grab the pager and carry it with me. At 2:00 am people are generally not outside and they will hear the pager in the house go off therefore no need to sound the alarms. We depend on the sirens as a back up notifcation system. Most departments limit sounding the alarms "after hours".

[Unregisteredpullwool]

Sirens are esential during day hours when volunteers may be doing outside activities where they are not carrying their pagers. As an example, in the pool, working in the yard with loud equiptment. Believe it or not, some volunteers do not have that pager strapped to their sides 24/7. My pager generally stays in the house unless I expect to be outside for an extended period of time. If I run outside to move the sprinkler or take out the garbage I don't grab the pager and carry it with me. At 2:00 am people are generally not outside and they will hear the pager in the house go off therefore no need to sound the alarms. We depend on the sirens as a back up notifcation system. Most departments limit sounding the alarms "after hours".


Like I said, there are towns that don't use the sirens unless truly needed. We mow our lawns, use the pool, and sometimes run out and put a sprinkler on. The pager is loud enough to hear from inside your house. They have repeaters, red lights to know that it went out, and all fancy stuff. You don't need the sirens. your fooling yourself and the public. YOu don't need to sound the siren because someone twisted there ankle. Lets face it, if you don't need the siren at 2am you don't need it at 2pm. If you don't want to carry your pager around, then thats on you. Why bother the public because you don't want to carry your pager. Get with the times. Stop fooling the public.

[Unregistered1]

Why bother the public because you don't want to carry your pager.

Oooooooooooooo...........god forbid we BOTHER the public answering THEIR call for help.



Jackass.

[Siren550]

Oooooooooooooo...........god forbid we BOTHER the public answering THEIR call for help.



Jackass.

You're right, but many times they didn't call for help. there alarms go off for nothing. why wake a napping baby for nonsense.

[Unregistered987]

Like I said, there are towns that don't use the sirens unless truly needed. We mow our lawns, use the pool, and sometimes run out and put a sprinkler on. The pager is loud enough to hear from inside your house. They have repeaters, red lights to know that it went out, and all fancy stuff. You don't need the sirens. your fooling yourself and the public. YOu don't need to sound the siren because someone twisted there ankle. Lets face it, if you don't need the siren at 2am you don't need it at 2pm. If you don't want to carry your pager around, then thats on you. Why bother the public because you don't want to carry your pager. Get with the times. Stop fooling the public.

The pager doesn't work everywhere jackass. Neither does my cell phone! It's the same concept.And if you can hear the pager inside your house when you are outside mowing the lawn or getting the mail, wow, you have just the best hearing on the face of the earth! Did it ever ocur to you that when the siren goes off, the victim/patient also hears it and knows that we are on the way! Get over your tiny inconveniences.

[smart guy]

I'm sorry I even replied to that moron. Next he will be complaining that the trains make too much noise and they should no longer blow the whistle. Or maybe we should eliminate horns on vehicles. I'm guessing he's the idiot behind me at traffic lights that blows his horn the second the light turns green. Idiots and a s s h o l e s. The world is full of them.

[Blow em]

Like I said, there are towns that don't use the sirens unless truly needed. We mow our lawns, use the pool, and sometimes run out and put a sprinkler on. The pager is loud enough to hear from inside your house. They have repeaters, red lights to know that it went out, and all fancy stuff. You don't need the sirens. your fooling yourself and the public. YOu don't need to sound the siren because someone twisted there ankle. Lets face it, if you don't need the siren at 2am you don't need it at 2pm. If you don't want to carry your pager around, then thats on you. Why bother the public because you don't want to carry your pager. Get with the times. Stop fooling the public.

While you are mowing your lawn, using your weed wacker or a skill saw have you ever had your kids run up and tell you that the fire horn is going off!!! You can't always hear the pager when you are working in the yard or in your workshop. Keep the sirens and horns at least for the daytime real stuff!!!

[Unregisteredsticksnstones]

You're right, but many times they didn't call for help. there alarms go off for nothing. why wake a napping baby for nonsense.

Thats right sound that alarm for that automatic alarm that goes off once a week. Thats sprained ankle. That person who has been sick for about 4 days with a headache, the alarms will help there headache. Will give them some real comfort, a real loud siren blasting in there ear. Get a life, really. Like i said u want to sound the alarm to toot your own horn. And yes u can bother the public with those air horns. If they knew the real reason those things are going off they will be pissed. The pager is loud enough to hear from inside your house. They have this thing called a volume knob. U turn it up. My pager even vibrates so if I keep it on me I can feel it. Wont have to worry about hearing it. And as far as cell phones being the same concept. U r joking. Yeah pagers may not work inside a big store. BUt I never ever heard of them not working while out side. U have your own tower, not a cell phone tower. Lets really face the facts, u are not the type to stop your yard work to answer the call anyway. Stop using your siren for everything

[Unregistereduhduh]

I'm sorry I even replied to that moron. Next he will be complaining that the trains make too much noise and they should no longer blow the whistle. Or maybe we should eliminate horns on vehicles. I'm guessing he's the idiot behind me at traffic lights that blows his horn the second the light turns green. Idiots and a s s h o l e s. The world is full of them.


I would never complain about the trains whistle making to much noise. The trains blow the whistle for a good reason. It is needed to warn people. A horn is needed to warn people. What are u warning people about when u blow your own horn at that firehouse of yours? That the guy 1/2 mile away from my house twisted his ankle 2 days ago and now wants an ambulance ride to the hospital. And don't forget to go lights and sirens on the way to the hospital. because that is needed too. We need to make sure we make as much noise as possible when granny likes to eat pop corn at lunch time and all ways sets off that fire alarm at the 55 and over community because she doesn't know how to set the microwave to popcorn setting. Lets make sure we go nuts for that one. Get the popcorn while it is hot. I can assure you im not the idiot behind you at the traffic light. Because while u are mowing your lawn, I am sleeping, nice and sound. I work nights and the fire department around me respects me enough no to blast there air horns for every alarm. They found a way to not to be noisy and get the job done at the same time.

[Unregistered101010]

The pager doesn't work everywhere jackass. Neither does my cell phone! It's the same concept.And if you can hear the pager inside your house when you are outside mowing the lawn or getting the mail, wow, you have just the best hearing on the face of the earth! Did it ever ocur to you that when the siren goes off, the victim/patient also hears it and knows that we are on the way! Get over your tiny inconveniences.

the victim/patient doesn't get comfort from those air horns, you do. The victim/patient is embarrassed more often than not when they need help and have to call an ambulance. The last thing they want is all that racket. I can assure you people would rather u come with discretion and be all hush-hush, than the air horn blasting and lights and sirens blasting. People like to be discrete and private. Thats the whole concept of the HIPAA act, privacy. Patients rights. Now do victims have rights? Thats the whole other question. Are they a victim if you tech the call? Is that what makes them a victim?

[Unregistered987654]

Why not address the issue of why a guy who sprained his ankle two days ago is even calling for an ambulance in the first place no alarm no sirens

[Unregisteredunreal]

Why not address the issue of why a guy who sprained his ankle two days ago is even calling for an ambulance in the first place no alarm no sirens

You really didn't just write that did you? Think before you right. How are you going to stop someone for calling 911 for an ambulance? Guy was injured, needed medical attention, and had no other way of getting to hospital or Doctors, so he called for an ambulance. Emergency, no. Needed medical attention, yes. airhorn needed to be sounded, no. If that was the case, no alarm no siren, You midas well get rid of fire alarms since 99% of them are false alarms. Hell just tell people all together to stop calling. YOU CAN'T stop people from calling when they need help. Tell them to use there garden hose or a taxi. You think the person with a sprained ankle wanted to call. Hell no he waited around 2 days debating it. The point is not for the injured to stop calling, but for the firehouse to stop blowing the horns for non emergency, such as sprained ankle. Write your state senators, congress, whatever it takes if those airhorns bother you. Don't be affraid, or fooled by these people who think it is needed for every tiny call the fire department gets. Plenty of departments don't use them and still have no problem getting out.

[smart guy again]

I would never complain about the trains whistle making to much noise. The trains blow the whistle for a good reason. It is needed to warn people. A horn is needed to warn people. What are u warning people about when u blow your own horn at that firehouse of yours? That the guy 1/2 mile away from my house twisted his ankle 2 days ago and now wants an ambulance ride to the hospital. And don't forget to go lights and sirens on the way to the hospital. because that is needed too. We need to make sure we make as much noise as possible when granny likes to eat pop corn at lunch time and all ways sets off that fire alarm at the 55 and over community because she doesn't know how to set the microwave to popcorn setting. Lets make sure we go nuts for that one. Get the popcorn while it is hot. I can assure you im not the idiot behind you at the traffic light. Because while u are mowing your lawn, I am sleeping, nice and sound. I work nights and the fire department around me respects me enough no to blast there air horns for every alarm. They found a way to not to be noisy and get the job done at the same time.


A true idiot. You know nothing about anything you are writing about, nothing. Absolutely no one goes lights and sirens for a sprained ankle. That would be considered an Alpha call. That means "cold" response and "cold" transport. No lights and sirens. Find a subject you have knowledge about and then post. Goodbye, have a pleasant day. Hopefully we won't wake you from your beauty sleep with our sirens.

[horny]

Why do they need to blow the horn at 12pm everyday seems like a waste.

[Unregistered164784.4]

lets do away with all horns, sirens, whistles that are such a inconvience to people of the community. while we are at it maybe we can stop dogs from barking, babies from crying, people blasting their radios, the ice cream man jingle as he drives by. lets not forget the landscrapers with there lawnmowers and blowers. come on people i'm tired of everyone complaining about stuff that is so minor its a joke. why dont you worry about gas prices, the economy, the fact the gov't sends millions of dollars to help homeless and the sick in africa and other countries yet does nothing for are own citizens that are in the same boat. i guess those arent big enough issues, the siren that blows a few times a day for a minute is. no wonder the country that i love has become a laughing stock.

[RegisteredJustNotLoggedOn]

I would never complain about the trains whistle making to much noise. The trains blow the whistle for a good reason. It is needed to warn people.

Every LIRR crossing has gates that go down, flashing lights, and an audible signal. So therefore, following YOUR logic, the trains shouldn't need to sound their whistles to warn people. A deaf person would see the gates and flashing lights, a blind person would hear the audible signal and a deaf and blind person would feel the gate across their path. So the trains would only have to sound their whistles if they saw that the warnings at the crossing failed. Thinking about it further using your vane of thought, the trains run on schedules, as opposed to fires and EMS runs which don't. So maybe we could do away with all the train warnings!?! Afterall, we know when the train is scheduled to cross. Hmmm, makes sense to me... NOT!

Sirens serve a purpose as pointed out in several reasonable posts here. But they can be limited to normal daytime hours when people are likely to be involved in other, possibly noisy, envirnoments. I do wear my pager 24/7 (well not while sleeping but it's closeby) and many a time while using the lawn mower or other noisy equipment I have been alerted by the sirens blowing. I can then check my pager playback to determine where the incident is and respond.

[Unregistered0700/2100]

Where I come from, except for a report of a structure fire or by order for a declared disaster or similar emergency. And people will say AFA's don't require it, but we have very few commercial or residential trips in town so it's better safe than sorry and the dispatcher has to over ride the timer on the consol computer anyway outside of those hours and activate manually anyway. It's a good thing if you have volunteers and even if not, I think you have to keep them in working order according to the maze of federal government regulations. I can remember when snow days at school where banged out from the firehouse sirens, two wails at 0700, no school!
Just because it's the age of technology, lets not become jaded to a simple public alerting device.. And why does the church in town ring those damn bells every Sunday morning during service? Grew up with that too and didn't bother you much now did it?

[Unregisteredandlovingit]

Volunteer ambulance corps don't use alert sirens and they seem to get out just fine (as long as they have people actually answering the pages).

Another poster pointed out that there are fire deparments who have curtailed use of the sirens and still are able to respond.

If limiting siren use works for them, why can't other departments follow suit?

Oh and by the way, you can't tell me there aren't ambulances using lights and sirens for bs calls. As a paid and volunteer medic, I have seen ambulances come screaming into the hospital lights, sirens, air horns, coming to a stop and walking the patient into a wheel chair and bringing them inside. (In all fairness I have seen patients taken off medevacs in wheelchairs too!)

[Unregistered987]

the victim/patient doesn't get comfort from those air horns, you do. The victim/patient is embarrassed more often than not when they need help and have to call an ambulance. The last thing they want is all that racket. I can assure you people would rather u come with discretion and be all hush-hush, than the air horn blasting and lights and sirens blasting. People like to be discrete and private. Thats the whole concept of the HIPAA act, privacy. Patients rights. Now do victims have rights? Thats the whole other question. Are they a victim if you tech the call? Is that what makes them a victim?

Obviously you have rarely if ever ridden on an actual ambulance. I have had many real patients (not ankle twisters) say, or their families say, that they were in fact reassured hearing the siren. They knew we were coming.Your empathy level is abominally low. Probably a good thing you don't ride on the bus. And by the way, when you are in real pain, or dying, you don't give a shit about being discrete. You want help, fast.

[firehornsareuseless]

I gotta tell ya, I vollie in a department that is extremely busy. We had an air raid siren since I could remember. It would be blown during the day only, with the exception of a confirmed structure fire in the middle of the night. The policy allowed the siren to be blown automatically during the daytime for any general alarm (car accidents, fire alarms, brush fires, etc.). It would only be blown for an EMS call if they had trouble getting a crew together. During that time period, it was happening alot. We had trouble getting a crew out almost every day. Now, several years later, the siren is broken, and has been broken for quite some time now. The district is refusing to get it fixed because they dont see it as a "NECCESSITY", and I agree with that 100%. Our call volume has increased dramatically even further, and we can pack 3 or 4 ambulances out at one time with little effort. This is all done without the use of the siren. On top of that, almost evrey department has paid personell now to supplement the vollies when needed. It proves to you right there that its not needed. Its out-dated and uneccessary. I can see maybe 30 years ago, technology was not so advanced and paging systems proved unreliable. But, now, in 2008, technology is so advanced, the siren is not needed. New advances in pagers with "play-back modes, vibrating, headset attachments, and visual alerts, have made notifying the vollies much more reliable. Also, with the most recent piece of technology put into place in suffolk, being the red alert text messages, it makes things even better. These text messages come directly to your cell phone or alpha pager and it tells you everything you need.

With all that in mind, coming from a vollie's standpoint, the sirens are out-dated and not needed for proper response. I think alot of these depts hang on to them just because of tradition.

[Unregistered987]

Thats right sound that alarm for that automatic alarm that goes off once a week. Thats sprained ankle. That person who has been sick for about 4 days with a headache, the alarms will help there headache. Will give them some real comfort, a real loud siren blasting in there ear. Get a life, really. Like i said u want to sound the alarm to toot your own horn. And yes u can bother the public with those air horns. If they knew the real reason those things are going off they will be pissed. The pager is loud enough to hear from inside your house. They have this thing called a volume knob. U turn it up. My pager even vibrates so if I keep it on me I can feel it. Wont have to worry about hearing it. And as far as cell phones being the same concept. U r joking. Yeah pagers may not work inside a big store. BUt I never ever heard of them not working while out side. U have your own tower, not a cell phone tower. Lets really face the facts, u are not the type to stop your yard work to answer the call anyway. Stop using your siren for everything

Try that pager on either shore, especially the north shore-port jeff, mt.sinai, rocky point, sound beach. There are dead spots all across the shore line where the pagers and cells do not always work jack ass. Of course, you are no doubt one of the NIMBY nuts that voted against the added tower thinking it might cause your little brain cancer. Or you didn't want it in your neighborhood to mar your view. But you would no doubt bitch the loudest if it took more than 5 minutes to get to your house!

[Unregisteredfool]

Try that pager on either shore, especially the north shore-port jeff, mt.sinai, rocky point, sound beach. There are dead spots all across the shore line where the pagers and cells do not always work jack ass. Of course, you are no doubt one of the NIMBY nuts that voted against the added tower thinking it might cause your little brain cancer. Or you didn't want it in your neighborhood to mar your view. But you would no doubt bitch the loudest if it took more than 5 minutes to get to your house!

Nope didn't so such a thing. The only real dead spot on the northshore is in your bedroom. Please stop pulling the wool over the good peoples head. Because you combine all those towns together you might get 7 working fires a year. Maybe 15 pin jobs, and a cardiac arrest once a month. and about 3000 false alarms. Yeah ok valid point, keep it up.

[Unregisteredfoolish]

Every LIRR crossing has gates that go down, flashing lights, and an audible signal. So therefore, following YOUR logic, the trains shouldn't need to sound their whistles to warn people. A deaf person would see the gates and flashing lights, a blind person would hear the audible signal and a deaf and blind person would feel the gate across their path. So the trains would only have to sound their whistles if they saw that the warnings at the crossing failed. Thinking about it further using your vane of thought, the trains run on schedules, as opposed to fires and EMS runs which don't. So maybe we could do away with all the train warnings!?! Afterall, we know when the train is scheduled to cross. Hmmm, makes sense to me... NOT!

Sirens serve a purpose as pointed out in several reasonable posts here. But they can be limited to normal daytime hours when people are likely to be involved in other, possibly noisy, envirnoments. I do wear my pager 24/7 (well not while sleeping but it's closeby) and many a time while using the lawn mower or other noisy equipment I have been alerted by the sirens blowing. I can then check my pager playback to determine where the incident is and respond.


no u need to blow the whistle becuase people could be walking on the track ahead of the gate, or workers can be on the track and need to know the train is coming, u need that train whistle, just not that air horn. Stop comparing apples to oranges

[Unregisteredfoolatheart]

A true idiot. You know nothing about anything you are writing about, nothing. Absolutely no one goes lights and sirens for a sprained ankle. That would be considered an Alpha call. That means "cold" response and "cold" transport. No lights and sirens. Find a subject you have knowledge about and then post. Goodbye, have a pleasant day. Hopefully we won't wake you from your beauty sleep with our sirens.

Well not everyone is on the "ALPHA" system, like the town of babylon isn't. let me guess if though theres a cold response u still blow your own horn? Does that load horn still go off? Please keep your alpha and your air horn and I will stay sleep. Keep pretending you are making a difference in your community, don't forget to use your little blue light.

[Unregisteredwair]

Obviously you have rarely if ever ridden on an actual ambulance. I have had many real patients (not ankle twisters) say, or their families say, that they were in fact reassured hearing the siren. They knew we were coming.Your empathy level is abominally low. Probably a good thing you don't ride on the bus. And by the way, when you are in real pain, or dying, you don't give a shit about being discrete. You want help, fast.

Really tell that to HIPAA. And no not one pt has ever said that, oh yeah because we don't use our airhorns. How about those pt who called 20 minutes ago, heard three different sets of air horns go off, yet no one came? Yeah that makes them feel real good inside.

[Unregisteredohyeah]

I gotta tell ya, I vollie in a department that is extremely busy. We had an air raid siren since I could remember. It would be blown during the day only, with the exception of a confirmed structure fire in the middle of the night. The policy allowed the siren to be blown automatically during the daytime for any general alarm (car accidents, fire alarms, brush fires, etc.). It would only be blown for an EMS call if they had trouble getting a crew together. During that time period, it was happening alot. We had trouble getting a crew out almost every day. Now, several years later, the siren is broken, and has been broken for quite some time now. The district is refusing to get it fixed because they dont see it as a "NECCESSITY", and I agree with that 100%. Our call volume has increased dramatically even further, and we can pack 3 or 4 ambulances out at one time with little effort. This is all done without the use of the siren. On top of that, almost evrey department has paid personell now to supplement the vollies when needed. It proves to you right there that its not needed. Its out-dated and uneccessary. I can see maybe 30 years ago, technology was not so advanced and paging systems proved unreliable. But, now, in 2008, technology is so advanced, the siren is not needed. New advances in pagers with "play-back modes, vibrating, headset attachments, and visual alerts, have made notifying the vollies much more reliable. Also, with the most recent piece of technology put into place in suffolk, being the red alert text messages, it makes things even better. These text messages come directly to your cell phone or alpha pager and it tells you everything you need.

With all that in mind, coming from a vollie's standpoint, the sirens are out-dated and not needed for proper response. I think alot of these depts hang on to them just because of tradition.

I AGREE 100%.

[goldmember88]

RED ALERT is NOT a proven alerting system. Servers crash, screen freeze, printers fail. What works for your FD /EMS may not work for others.

We got rid of it after one year of promises and lies. An firefighter / EMS member cannot soley rely on a text message to his/her phone, besides it could sit in the queue for several minutes before recieving it.

While i do agree that sirens should no longer be the primary alerting means for EMS & Fire, they can still serve a purpose as means of alerting for things such as severe weather, activation of EOC's, etc.

Departments can also shorten the times that the sirens cycle. It should be done with the communities interest in mind.

[Unregistered1-12-0]

Well not everyone is on the "ALPHA" system, like the town of babylon isn't. let me guess if though theres a cold response u still blow your own horn? Does that load horn still go off? Please keep your alpha and your air horn and I will stay sleep. Keep pretending you are making a difference in your community, don't forget to use your little blue light.

When it's your mother or father clutching their chest and nobody shows up because the pager system failed or if they should decide to take your attitude and not allow their sleep to be disturbed by your trivial little problem, let's see how fast you change your ignorant tune..

[Unregistered987]

You know what, don't bother. There are some people who will never get it and further, seem to have some emotional grudge against vollies. I get lost of BS calls. But I also have received the most sincere gratitude from the seniors in our many 55+ communities that received care, many parents of hurt children etc. I don't need these idiots to tell me that we make a difference. And we'll still be there when the coward fails to tell us he was a basher on the Scwartz report when we have to respond to his house because he panicked.And it will happen. And I hope he gets good care.

[Rob 17th]

i can understand how some of you are enthusiastic about sirens but you need to understand somerthing about this one:
The one on the corner of wellwood ave and 17th street is in a residential neighborhood.
It is within 50 feet of some peoples homes.I myself live about 3 houses away from it.
It has given decibel readings well OVER 109
My neighbor had readings of over 95 decibels in his house with the windows closed
It goes off several times a day all week long and on the weekends.
it went off 5 times today and not a single truck left the house
It rotates, so at some point it is facing right at you. this makes it impossible to be outside without the possibility of PERMANENT hearing damage.
Good luck to my neighbors that work nights and used to sleep during the day

I'm sure some of you are aware of the efects of decible levels and hearing loss:
Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) - this is hearing loss due to exposure to either a sudden, loud noise or exposure to loud noises for a period of time. A dangerous sound is anything that is 85 dB (sound pressure level - SPL) or higher.

how many of the firemen posting on here live that close to one? any of you have small children? would you want them exposed to it every day?

[Unregistered987]

Did you move in before they put that siren in? Thought not. Yes I lived in a house 150 yards from a siren. In spring, with windows open in the afternoon it was a pain. But despite was an earlier poster claims, from Port Jeff to Wading River there are MANY dead spots. If you don't have a pager from those areas and don't know what you are talking about, keep your mouth shut. We had a water rescue, 1 survivor, 1 dead in Port 2 years ago- Every dept had problems with their radios on scene.

[fdnsdnn]

So, you think spending money maintaining and "juicing up" the air raid sirens solves the problem??? How about spending some money to improve the radio systems??? Extra antennas, repeaters, etc. There's plenty of new technology out there, why try to solve a problem with something that is so outdated, like the siren is. Now-a-days you can watch live television from your cell phone, trade stocks on your cell phones, perform surgeries with a robot, but you cant solve a service problem of certain "dead spots"? I think its a poor excuse for those buffy vollies who get off on hearing the sirens blast. Park the race trucks and spend the money on improving the technology. Its out there, you just need to wake up and stop being so ignorant!

[Unregisteredduh]

Did you move in before they put that siren in? Thought not. Yes I lived in a house 150 yards from a siren. In spring, with windows open in the afternoon it was a pain. But despite was an earlier poster claims, from Port Jeff to Wading River there are MANY dead spots. If you don't have a pager from those areas and don't know what you are talking about, keep your mouth shut. We had a water rescue, 1 survivor, 1 dead in Port 2 years ago- Every dept had problems with their radios on scene.


I can imagine that scene. Your 30 chief trying to reach the 31 chief and can't get him on the radio. Boy oh boy. Mean while the 31 chief is standing right next to 30. You guys just like to use your radios to feel important. If you have a problem with your radios then u need to do something about it. Because the air siren isn't going to tell you much. Did you use the air sirens at the scene? Was it able to tell the divers in the water what to do? Upgrade your radios.

[Buffs...]

the fire house siren is outdated and out moded by the very technology you buffs love to parade around with hanging off your belts. Now you have cell phones that receive text messages when calls go out, pagers that will repeat the last alarm etc. Stop you bullshit about how the siren is so important..like one poster said the siren went off 5 times for an alarm and not a truck moved from the fire house.

[FFJake]

Just today i was alerted to a working house fire by the siren. I had been outside with my dog and did not have my pager. They do have a purpose.

And the radio systems for communication are different from the pager system to alert firefighters

[ohreally????]

Well, it was just today that I was sitting on my bowl, dropping a nice healty dump, when off in the distance, I heard the siren. My pager did not activate, and I thought: "Wow, these pagers suck. The ceramic from the toilet must be blocking the signal.". Thank God for the siren, otherwise I would have never known that it was 12:00 noon!

[Truth_Be_Told]

Firehouse sirens still hold a purpose in today's "technological" world. Even though volunteers are equipped with voice pagers and some have textmsging programs sending the alarms to their cellular devices, they unfortunately do not always work. There are dead spots in every fire district where the voice pagers do not work. Also, volunteers do not always have their pager(s) attached to their hips. They could outside in their yard playing with their kid(s) and hear the horns and respond.

I cannot stand it when people complain about the sirens. You moved into the neighborhood knowing there was a firehouse on the corner. Deal with it or join. The people that complain about the noise are the same people that would be the first people to complain if no volunteers showed up to their house for an alarm after they protested to have them turned off!

[Unregisteredu77gpuug]

I am a resident of Central Islip and the firehouse nearby is REALLY busy. The siren goes off all day and all night - PS: thanks guys for doing a great job of protecting my community.

Anyway, I was just wondering, from my uninformed position, it would seem that in this day and age of digital technology, cell phones and more, why do we need a siren any more? The volunteers know where the firehouse is. I am just a little bewildered as to why we need to alert the entire neighborhood every time there is an emergency.

This post is not meant as a criticism or in a mean way, I am genuinely perplexed.

Can someone offer some sort of explanation?

Thanks for doing the toughest job on earth!!!

Don't step out of this house if that's the clothes you're gonna wear
I'll kick you out of my home is you don't cut that hair
Your mom busted in and said, "What's that noise?"
Aw, mom you're just jealous it's the Beastie Boys!

[Unregistered987]

So, you think spending money maintaining and "juicing up" the air raid sirens solves the problem??? How about spending some money to improve the radio systems??? Extra antennas, repeaters, etc. There's plenty of new technology out there, why try to solve a problem with something that is so outdated, like the siren is. Now-a-days you can watch live television from your cell phone, trade stocks on your cell phones, perform surgeries with a robot, but you cant solve a service problem of certain "dead spots"? I think its a poor excuse for those buffy vollies who get off on hearing the sirens blast. Park the race trucks and spend the money on improving the technology. Its out there, you just need to wake up and stop being so ignorant!

"Why don't we put in more antennas, towers etc?"
Because morons like YOU protest every time we want to put up a tower so that we can get better signals. Idiots like you think your kids will get brain cancer if there's a damn tower near the school or playground. Do you ever read the newspaper? My text pages often get delivered 10-40 minutes after a call. I use BOTH my cell and pager. I don't complain but I'm tired of imbeciles like you who do nothing but. Tell your neigbors to stop calling with 3 cars in the driveway for non-emergencies. You'd hear a lot less sirens then.

[Unregisteredskfddkfndl]

The guy who started this thread was from Central Islip. He thought the FD was doing a good job, but wondered if the siren was necessary. Just about every ambulance call in the town of Islip is dispatched without the aid of a siren (to ambulance corps). This has been going on for a long, long time and the call volumes are tremendous. If there were any real pager dead zones in CI, I would be very surprised.

One can reasonable conclude that the fire siren in Central Islip is not necessary for emergency response. It is an anachronism liked by buffs.

[Hey siren hater]

Buff This

[suck my schlonger]

you could not come up with anything better then to bitch about a siren. Are you that bored, sexually frustrated, or maybe just a plain ASSHOLE? Why don't you raise the flag and bitch at why your taxes (school) rise every year. Lets see, my fire district tax last year was an incredible, $323.12. My school taxes were over 4 grand. Learn to pick a fight worth taking a punch for. You must have been the kid in school that had to fight every weekend for his frito money.

In departing this bullshit, good for nothing rag site, I plead with you and the other 400 pound chair crushing, tub mashing morons to go after something other then a vollie. How about the local sector cop sitting int he same parking lot all day. This does not bother you?


kappa phi phi

[babalanceinci?]

The guy who started this thread was from Central Islip. He thought the FD was doing a good job, but wondered if the siren was necessary. Just about every ambulance call in the town of Islip is dispatched without the aid of a siren (to ambulance corps). This has been going on for a long, long time and the call volumes are tremendous. If there were any real pager dead zones in CI, I would be very surprised.

One can reasonable conclude that the fire siren in Central Islip is not necessary for emergency response. It is an anachronism liked by buffs.

Yeah right, no sirens, until CIHVA get on their third three and the VFD's sirens go off to respond. Please Mr. pot, don't call the kettle black...

[Rob 17th]

Did you move in before they put that siren in? Thought not. Yes I lived in a house 150 yards from a siren. In spring, with windows open in the afternoon it was a pain. But despite was an earlier poster claims, from Port Jeff to Wading River there are MANY dead spots. If you don't have a pager from those areas and don't know what you are talking about, keep your mouth shut. We had a water rescue, 1 survivor, 1 dead in Port 2 years ago- Every dept had problems with their radios on scene.
i've lived here for years. the siren only started a month ago. did that siren give you 119 decibels in your bedroom? thought not.

[Unregistered53452op534908]

hi [you]

[Unregistered987]

i've lived here for years. the siren only started a month ago. did that siren give you 119 decibels in your bedroom? thought not.


The siren started a month ago!! Tell me what district.I'll call them cause I don't believe that for a minute.

[Unregistered98709]

First learn to spell second be real sirens have been around for a long time so get over it and get off the keyboard and get an education

[Unregisteredhieniedkei]

God haven't you rejects figured it out yet. Theses sirens are so out dated and a total waste. Get with the program. Its like the boy who cries wolf. They set these sirens off 5 times a day. It goes off so many times we (the public) thinks it broken. God for bid you needed to set it off like for a tornado, to warn the public. We the public would be like who cares. It goes off all the time. Keep setting that siren off bc the wendy's employee forgot to turn on the exhaust fan. That happens everyday around 11am. Yet the sirens will go off for the same stupid ass alarm. GO SOUND YOUR ALARM, OMG someone was smoking a cigarette and set the alarm off. You really are a bunch of winners.

[Unregistered22]

Stop the BS Wendys type calls. 2/3 of the calls are BS from people who don't know any better, or actually don't care. Just call the FD. So what if it's a false alarm. So what if juniors got a nosebleed at 9PM and there's 4 cars in the driveway when the ambulance shows up. Your neighbors do it for nothing. It doesn't cost ME anything extra to call. Except it costs the volunteer time away from his family. Juniors in the ambulance and there's three cars following to the hospital. That's the disgrace. And it happens 75% of the time. HOW ABOUT THAT? Oh, that doesn't affect YOU, right?

Don't get me wrong - we'll come any time you think you need us. But enough is enough, already.

PS - If you were there before these sirens, then you would remember that the exact same siren was there years ago, and it was used 24 hours a day.

Here's an idea - volunteer, and help YOUR neghbors.

I didn't think so. I can actually hear the list of excuses piling up.

[Rob 17th]

PS - If you were there before these sirens, then you would remember that the exact same siren was there years ago, and it was used 24 hours a day.

Bullshit. it was not.

also check your fucking calendars Vollies. it's 2008. a siren is one step above smoke signals. you have cell phones, pagers,text messaging and the fact that you all like to hang out at the house all fucking day. how many of you even live close enough to hear it? 2 out of every 10?

[Rob 17th]

The siren started a month ago!! Tell me what district.I'll call them cause I don't believe that for a minute.
EFFD on wellwood ave. news 12 did a story on it today

[Unregisterednuke]

During the early years of its production, the Thunderbolt siren's main purpose was to be sounded in the event of a nuclear attack/drill or air raid. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the majority of cities and towns that had Thunderbolts and other outdoor warning sirens would begin using them more for severe weather/tornado warnings.

Now it is being used to damage the hearing of anybody unlucky enough to live close to EFFD and to remind the vollies that they forgot to use their pagers.

[Unregistered90809]

The siren is used to make the public aware there is a call and to Inhance the response. This siren was used by the fire dept for years for calls and now it is brought back.If you have nothing to do but post your nonsense here that means your not spending the quality time you want with your family!I say Join the dept and help out your friends in need but im sure you won"t it is easy just to sit home and complain.

[Unregistered234]

In my village, where I am a volunteer firemen, we still use the sirens. However, we do not use them past 8:00 PM. This was done to accommodate those new residents moving into the village from Brooklyn or Queens where they do not have sirens.

As someone stated previously, the sirens must be sounded at least once per day as they are part of the early warning system.

[Thunderbolt]

These Residents should be appreciating the EFFD not crying like bitches about a siren that is there for them. Why don't u people get off your high horse and join the dept. These Couple of people who were complaining about it Would want that thunderbolt roaring if they needed help. Keep up the good work EFFD. Long Live the mighty Thunderbolt!!!!!!!!

[Rob 17th]

These Residents should be appreciating the EFFD not crying like bitches about a siren that is there for them. Why don't u people get off your high horse and join the dept. These Couple of people who were complaining about it Would want that thunderbolt roaring if they needed help. Keep up the good work EFFD. Long Live the mighty Thunderbolt!!!!!!!!
so by your "logic" anything they do is OK based on the idea that one day we might need their help? you are a jackass.
as far as joining the dept, how the fuck does that stop the constant headache that thing causes? i voulenteer for other orginazations and donate my time and money in lots of other ways
our problem is not the EFFD, it's the ROTATING SCREAMING YELLOW THING on the roof of the EFFD that has been used for the last month. i can only hope your next door neighbor installs one on his roof and sets it off any time you are outside

[Unregistered65986523]

I have been a active member of the fire service for 31 years. We have not used sirens and/or horns in at least 10 years. There is no reason for them. If you have dead spots in your radio system fix that. Your crazy if you think that the one, two members that are two lazy to carry there pagers will respond. If you didn't activate your sirens you would see how fast people will not forget to carry there pager. When we stopped using them the same arguments took place it is all BS......... There not needed anymore and serve no usefull purpose.

[Rob 17th]

The siren is used to make the public aware there is a call
so the old folks can turn their scanners :rolleyes:

I say Join the dept and help out your friends in need
Another Jerk-off that dosen't seem to understand THAT WILL NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF THE SIREN

[Thunderbolt]

Whats really funny is that they will not be turned off. So pack ur fucking bags and move!!!!!!!!!!!!:D

[Unregistered1]

Whats really funny is that they will not be turned off. So pack ur fucking bags and move!!!!!!!!!!!!:D

AMEN.

[Unregistered89890]

Rob 17th And the 31 year wonder member

Rob first learn how to spell before you write something on this site because as you know it is the real deal like the star.Listen if you vollie for other things and give mony and work how the hell are you hearing this all day.i think your playing with your meat puppet all day and it disturbs you before you rub one out. Listen if it blows a couple of times it is only for a minute and you sound like a person who would complain about anything. and as the last post said they won't turn it off.As for calling channel 12 news they would sell out there own mother for a news break.Sirens are used by many depts and that one was used for years in your area.get out behind the computer and do some things with your family . again if it rings 10 times thats 10 mins out of the day .The people that respond to the station take alot more time out of there day to help the area. now for the 31 year wonder member i"m sure you have done nothing in those 31 years so keep you mouth shut.

[Rob 17th]

Rob 17th And the 31 year wonder member
i think your playing with your meat puppet all day and it disturbs you before you rub one out. .
so send your mom over. and have her wear your Vollie gear

[Unregistered99880]

So Rob 17th I see your real brave and smart I should have known that would be your response your family must be real proud of you ! Here is a fact the siren will not go away and everytime it goes off i will think of you. I would like to lower myself to your curb side attitude but there is no need to i will let the siren do the talking LMAO everytime it goes off.

[Rob 17th]

So Rob 17th I see your real brave and smart I should have known that would be your response your family must be real proud of you !
But it's ok when I get insulted? Don’t be so fucking self-righteous

[obliquity]

One caveat of hearing the siren go off is if you are in your car driving you are now made aware that there is an alarm and that emergency vehicles will be hitting the road shortly.

In addition, many times when your department is getting toned out, another department steps all over it and you don't get a clear message over your pager.

Just my contribution to the arguement for Sirens.

[Unregisteredglowboy]

I got a great idea. Let's put a really loud siren on the firehouse. I mean a really, really loud siren, like one that was designed to warn the public of a nuclear attack. We know our members are too stupid to actually use the pagers we give them. So every time we get an automatic alarm, we can all pretend to play thermonuclear war! Oh boy!

If we damage a few kids nearby, screw 'em! Don't they know we are heroes? Let them all move away. We like playing with loud toys. We are the real professionals. How dare the public complain!

[Rob 17th]

My point is this:
For years it wasn't necessary. Why is it being used now?
There are better ways of alerting your members and the community. Use the technology. Pagers, text messaging systems, radios, cell phones...they work
Cops don’t set off an alarm over the precinct house when a crime is reported and they seem to get their job done
The Thunderbolt is a health hazard. Don’t believe me? Stand outside next to the house when it goes off and try and pretend your ears don't ring. Multiply that by x times a day over the next x amount of years

[Unregistered7373788]

"now for the 31 year wonder member i"m sure you have done nothing in those 31 years so keep you mouth shut."


Go fuck yourself I been an active member and have served thru the rank of captain more than once. Your the one who should shut up and grow up. Sirens had there place in time it's time to mover foward.......

[Unregistered9998870]

Ok Rob 17th

Yes the siren is loud but the technology they have out there is not that reliable.Sorry but the dispatchers get stepped on and the text message never gets there on time. So can they lower the siren I would assume yes. Will they I would assume yes,So why don't you stop down and talk to the guys down the street in a normal fashion and get to know them and maybe they can help you out. I'm talking about the fireman you know the guys who live in your area and hear the same siren you do. You will get more with being nice then being bitter on this site thats for sure.

Now for Mr 31 Years I see you were Capt a couple of times so you never made chief I wonder why I'm sure you ran. enough said there.Do your self a favor and stay of this site and if you do write something speak with some Smarts !!!! Now I really do not want to make this into a pissing contest so relax and think about what you write and say, and if you approach this the right way you may get some satisfaction .

Wish you all a good day!!!!!!!

[Rob 17th]

Now for Mr 31 Years I see you were Capt a couple of times so you never made chief I wonder why I'm sure you ran. enough said there.Do your self a favor and stay of this site and if you do write something speak with some Smarts !!!! Now I really do not want to make this into a pissing contest
obviously :rolleyes:

[Unregisteredohno]

One caveat of hearing the siren go off is if you are in your car driving you are now made aware that there is an alarm and that emergency vehicles will be hitting the road shortly.

In addition, many times when your department is getting toned out, another department steps all over it and you don't get a clear message over your pager.

Just my contribution to the arguement for Sirens.


Oh yeah the big red truck with lights and sirens don't get cars to move over, but that loud air siren will. You hear your pager go off go to the nearest firehouse, who cares if another department steps on you. Your air siren isn't going to tell you anything different than the tones on your pager. It is not needed despite what anyone tells you. The public don't really care how many alarms you go on, if you are responding to an alarm. Get real. Read the boy who cried wolf. Bc thats what those air sirens are. They go off so much I think the world is coming to an end.

[Unregistered3443]

Ok Rob 17th

Yes the siren is loud but the technology they have out there is not that reliable.Sorry but the dispatchers get stepped on and the text message never gets there on time. So can they lower the siren I would assume yes. Will they I would assume yes,So why don't you stop down and talk to the guys down the street in a normal fashion and get to know them and maybe they can help you out. I'm talking about the fireman you know the guys who live in your area and hear the same siren you do. You will get more with being nice then being bitter on this site thats for sure.

Now for Mr 31 Years I see you were Capt a couple of times so you never made chief I wonder why I'm sure you ran. enough said there.Do your self a favor and stay of this site and if you do write something speak with some Smarts !!!! Now I really do not want to make this into a pissing contest so relax and think about what you write and say, and if you approach this the right way you may get some satisfaction .

Wish you all a good day!!!!!!!

Listen rob the 17th, talking to the firemen, or on this board is useless. I happen to agree that the sirens are the most out dated and is totally not needed. Its actually a hazard. IT should only be used as a warning device to the public, like lets say an attack happening on the country or tornado, or both. Lets face it fire people, you know dam well the only reason u still have the sirens go off is because you get off when they go off. YOu say look everyone I have a call, look at me and my little blue light, i hope they don't reset that automatic alarm before I get there. get real people. So ROB the 17th there is no talking to them, just write every politician out there, start local then go to state then US if you have too. If that don't work then get a lawyer and go to your ear dr. SHow how much damage u have from those sirens.

[dfvfdvfd]

id like to know if there was a study showing that ff response or whatever they claim the need for the sirens improves when there is a siren there versus when there is no siren

if theres no proof... why spend my money on it???

[Unregistered1]

id like to know if there was a study showing that ff response or whatever they claim the need for the sirens improves when there is a siren there versus when there is no siren

if theres no proof... why spend my money on it???

Actually....as stated in other threads here........the fact that your fire department has and uses a siren warning system, as a backup to other means of alerting the firefighters, helps to lower the ISO rating of your fire department. The lower the ISO the lower you pay in homeowners insurance.
The ISO rating is also afected by such things as how close you live to a fire house,how many firehouses in the district, if your district has hydrants, amount and type of apparatus.....just to name a few..........

so dfvfdvfd not spending YOUR (our?) money on it but helping to save it.............

[Unregistered2355r]

id like to know if there was a study showing that ff response or whatever they claim the need for the sirens improves when there is a siren there versus when there is no siren

if theres no proof... why spend my money on it???

Why spend the money on another useless study?

[Unregisteredqwerty]

Actually....as stated in other threads here........the fact that your fire department has and uses a siren warning system, as a backup to other means of alerting the firefighters, helps to lower the ISO rating of your fire department. The lower the ISO the lower you pay in homeowners insurance.
The ISO rating is also afected by such things as how close you live to a fire house,how many firehouses in the district, if your district has hydrants, amount and type of apparatus.....just to name a few..........

so dfvfdvfd not spending YOUR (our?) money on it but helping to save it.............

Cell phone text messages are also a backup means of alerting FFs if pagers don't work. They can be used 7 x 24. Sirens are typically turned off at night.

[Guest 23]

Night time is exactly when you want the siren on. My house is midway between our principal siren, and one for an adjoining district. Ours going off wakes me up every time, the adjoining one never.

The idea, at night, is redundancy. Yes, I hear the pager, but frequently I hear the siren first. It doesn't matter one way or the other but on those rare occasions when we do have the proverbial 3 a.m. call, you want everything you can get making noise to get us out of bed, into our cars and on the way to the rigs.

Keep the sirens.

[Unregistered lbfd230]

I've been in my fire dept(Long Beach) for over 20 years, and we haven't used our sirens/horns for over 7 years and it has no impact on our response. I have to agree with most of the posters that the sirens/horns are no longer needed and are useless. Don't claim "we have dead spots, black out spots in our district" thats a load of BS. We all know if its "something" we will be called on cell phones or be text or for some of you real buffs, the buff pager. Stop with the idea "we need them/its for the public safety. The sirens/hors were first developed before plectrons were invented. We've come a long way, let it go.

[Rob 17th]

I've been in my fire dept(Long Beach) for over 20 years, and we haven't used our sirens/horns for over 7 years and it has no impact on our response. I have to agree with most of the posters that the sirens/horns are no longer needed and are useless. Don't claim "we have dead spots, black out spots in our district" thats a load of BS. We all know if its "something" we will be called on cell phones or be text or for some of you real buffs, the buff pager. Stop with the idea "we need them/its for the public safety. The sirens/hors were first developed before plectrons were invented. We've come a long way, let it go.
Careful, they are going to accuse you of having not done anything in those 20 years ;)

[Thunderbolt]

Mabe because Long beach has paid crews. Tell the hole truth brotha.

[Unregistered45613132]

Long Beach has 5 men on a shift. The horns were never used for the paid men they were to alert the vollys. Them not using them anymore had nothing to do with the fact they had paid men on, in fact back in the day when they used them they actually had more staff then they do now.

That's the whole truth........