Pennsylvania town wants 'disruptive' fire siren replaced with alert system

[@kansasclocksandsirens]

One of my biggest pet peaves is when someone complains about a siren because it's "loud". It's a siren, no shit it's loud

[@michaelmongelluzzo9206]

Well put!!!!!

[@Wubsabi]

I loved hearing my town's siren when i was growing up. It was never a good reason to hear it, except for the day each August where they would use it to start our local parade. Simpler times

[@marlened2681]

All I know is that in Oklahoma, that sound strikes fear in hearts that a tornado is coming and it’s time to get in your shelter. They will always need it because of technology glitches that could occur.

[@glitterfel-flame6672]

I live in NWOK, & wail we haven’t had to use it for tornados much this year, it is used as the noon call siren and every time an out-of-town camper gets drunk and lights something on fire or flips a dune buggy, witch is nearly every weekend

[@Tigers9596]

@@glitterfel-flame6672 It depends on the municipality. Some use it for fire calls (Cherokee comes to mind), some only use them for tornado warnings.

[@Angi3maname]

LOL. I’m from Alabama, and when I first moved to PA, that’s what I thought about. Tornado…

[@Tigers9596]

Being from AL, it makes sense since y'all get a lot down there. However, different areas prioritize different uses.@@Angi3maname

[@walter_248]

I hate when eloquently solved problems are overcomplicated. It's a siren, it's loud. That's quite literally its only purpose. A phone alert is not going to do better.

[@phillyfanbrenden]

I live around the corner from this and it doesn’t bother me at all, they used it yesterday for the tornado siren during the tornado

[@tommymaslak915]

its really obsolete, with pagers and other technology police stations got rid of it long ago and property values in a radius around firehouse go up.. with the 40% of communities that got rid of it. it should only be used for true emergencies, like an attack or tornado , not used as 12 o;clock whistle or for every little thing,, then it loses its effectiveness.

[@walter_248]

That's true too. But it should not be removed completely.

[@tommymaslak915]

@@walter_248 they don't have a protocol for a real disaster or attack. but I'm with you , they should keep it and have some kind of emergency system set up.

[@philipmclaughlin9636]

When your house is on fire and someone is trapped that is a pleasant sound

[@Paige-kn4zr]

And every other time, even in the middle of the night, it is TORTURE!!!! I would rather have NO fire dept, I swear it!!! The siren ruined my home and peace and now I have to move again

[@SirensAndAlarmsOfNorthernIL]

People need to chill about the siren bc it’s literally what gets the fire department to be successful at keeping ppl safe. Some poor towns prb don’t even have a fire department. IMO they should keep the siren and use both the alert system, AND the siren bc the more ways you have of alerting the volunteer firemen of a call, the faster they can work to get to their destinations and save lives

[@borkluchtalarm]

I agree to that!

[@joe.oneill]

Whiners. I live in the suburbs & we have a siren. See how much these same people whine when there homes burn down.

[@johnassal5838]

They said that one station had 650 calls last year or about 1.8 a day. Meaning it goes off almost twice a day. Say it goes off between midnight and six am about two or three days a week then. And if not enough volunteers show up, it goes off again and again until they do. That's "one" call. The chief says they have staffing issues too. I'm guessing your siren doesn't go off nearly that often.

[@RobotWillie]

Twice a day isn't so bad. I live in Washington state in a city where it would be several dozens of times a day at least so its impractical in larger cities but I can see how a smaller town like this with only 2 times a day wouldn't be so bad. I am 33 and we never had anything like this here but when I was a kid until about 2000 or so until they took them down there were sirens in a part of the city on the electric pools that I were told were for bomb warning during the cold war. There is a large air base near here, Fairchild, that was one of the main B-52 bomber bases and it was thought to be a main target for USSR if a war broke out. And it still would be as its one of the main bases for KC-135 Refueling planes now, which make it possible for fighter jets to fly to enemy territory without having to land for fuel. But anyways my cities Spokane FD doesn't depend on volunteers so much so its not as important to have an alert like this, maybe in outlying places it makes more sense.

[@Silencer333]

@@RobotWillie Spokane valley rez here same with us. the only sirens we hear are from the fire trucks because we dont have volunteers either

[@fmartinjr]

their*

[@fpitw71]

Oh BS, go to the west coast of the US and you will take notice they don't use fire sirens. The only whiners are you east coast fire whackers that gets your rocks off hearing that crap.

[@bwofficial1776]

My town decommissioned ours. I miss hearing it. Even if you work next to it, you get used to it. It's reassuring knowing that help is on the way and not subject to weak cell signals.

[@vintagesimplexfirealarmsof6440]

they say it broke but i bet it will fire up if u turn on ar timer

[@kingpalm101]

Sirens save lives

[@boatbound3300]

Make it louder

[@idonhadenuff5979]

😝 you joker

[@TALLXXL]

😂😂😂😂

[@SteelStateSirens]

Yeah some people don’t have pagers for a moment so fuck off when your house is burning down because you had to bitch over something meant to help you🤣

[@sirenmaster1735]

This town kinda looks similar to Greenport near me

[@sirenmaster1735]

Greenport stopped having a 6:00 siren now.

[@jillreichert3877]

Strasburg, PA resident. We still have ours. Been a part of life here for decades. My dog even sings to it. LOL. Pull up your big girl and boy panties, Langhorne. 🙄

[@911systemsllc3]

Bad Idea to get rid of it. Should, at the very least, be kept for Civil and Critical Weather Emergencies. Cell phones and the internet may go out because of a tornado a mile away, but that siren doesn't require the internet or a cell phone to activate and can be the difference between life and death.

[@audinos1840]

If he wants to compare his town to the fictional Mayberry of the 1950’s, all towns had sirens back then and nobody complained.

[@zacharylynch2469]

I would guess fictional Mayberry was small enough to have a volunteer FD and a siren.

[@tommymaslak915]

now we have technology, firemen answer to pagers, just as police do, mayberry got rid of their police siren.

[@bikdav]

I side with the loud horn. Many newer residents fail to understand that.

[@SkyeWPlayz]

I lived in Pa most of my life used to the sound but always wondered where tf it came from cause it sounds like it came straight from Silent hill lol.

[@HSETM]

Why silence an STH-10?

[@Ahmad__Muslim]

All the sirens (4 total) in my town and the about 10-20 more in towns near it have been decommissioned.

[@JoshuaAndMom]

Sirens are ideal for tornado warnings, not only do they save lives, but warn you to take shelter when severe storms threatens your area.

[@RobotWillie]

It doesn't surprise me places still do this, but I live in a city of decent size in Washington and never heard of this in my 33 years. Maybe we still had something like this in the 50s or 60s and maybe even in very rural areas that I am not aware of, but its never been a thing here in any large town for a long time and we are doing fine. But I can see why a small town or rural area would want to keep it that relies more on a volunteer department than a city or large town that has most of its firefighters that live in the FD station and always has a full contingent on site waiting at the station.

[@vader97100]

My department has 4 of these. They are pretty crucial for us because they only go off when it is a confirmed house fire (smaller sirens go off for other calls). If my pager is off while I’m sleeping these suckers will definitely wake me up if there is a job.

[@Tigers9596]

Which department if you don't mind me asking?

[@AllGamesAllMusicAllTime]

In reality, sirens are NOT disruptive. They are requirements for safety of all living things.

[@brotakig1531]

Most of the small towns in New Zealand still have fire sirens, whenever someone complains trucks go up and down the road blasting their horns at all hours until they back down pretty quick. At least they have in the two I've lived in, and some of ours only go twice a week but they still complain.

[@kennethduckworth7111]

I miss the old siren since my town went from a VFD to a full time professional FD.

[@cmritchie04]

Cell phone service falls under a different sent of FCC rules! When was the last time a cell phone company told a customer that one of their cell phone towers is out of service. Cell phones are on a public network if you are using a texting server you might not get the message for hours or yet someone else might be dispatching like an unauthorized persons. The siren serves many needs 1) it tells the general public to expect a fire truck to come out of the bays, 2)expect firefighters to come to the fire house in blue lights, 3)this is a volunteer fire house

[@charlotteclarke4665]

You wouldn't shut down a fire alarm system to stop it from waking you up in the middle of the night. This is the same thing, it is for emergencies.

[@diecastcupseries7317]

I used to be a volunteer firefighter in Western New York before I moved to a different village and we also have an STH-10. I now live in a village that has a fire department that has a Sterling M-10 siren and Gamewell Diaphone Horns for calls. Those people in that PA town just need to get used to it because what if they actually do it and the fire department doesn't show up due to lack of reception for they're pagers and cell phones. My suggestion is if you don't like it than move to a town that doesn't have one instead of complaining if your house burned down because no one showed up. The residents in the towns I live in we don't complain about those because they know what these devices are used for.

[@JustyourlocalJRFirefighter]

I love these sirens, people who say they want it removed are being a wuss. If their house was on fire, they would be so happy to hear that siren. That’s a reassurance that help is on the way.

[@fmartinjr]

But none of these cornball s complain like this about about illegal fire works in the neighborhoods and noisy motorcycles.

[@TRKaliFoxxo]

For real! Like sirens aren't something to complain about. There's plenty of actually important things that need the attention instead of a literal lifesaving piece of technology.

[@rickyblatt5553]

So there's a tornado, they won't have no alerts. Because you take down the saron. He's just a big cry baby

[@robbierenfro7209]

Let me ask you guys something, can you go to Tennessee court and please request that the state allows Tow Trucks to run lights and sirens, oh and something else too, please make sure that fire departments and police departments get their own line of Tow Trucks, that's all I'm gonna request for you guys.

[@sirenmaster1735]

This does not do a noon test

[@Felixjustvibe]

People complain about everything

[@fmartinjr]

They're allowed to nowadays. This country is out of control anymore.

[@Carol-wp3ji]

Curfew time for reprobates under 25. Yes Generation Z this means you too! 👍🇺🇸

[@copykon]

A compromise is the best outcome. Raising the siren higher will lessen the decibel levels at the ground level. Towns do need an early warning system when technology fails, but at the same time, you do not want it to be an annoyance or damage people's hearing. The sirens were intended to save lives. not disrupt them.

[@fmartinjr]

Since the 40's to 50's this has been normal in suburban settings close or distant to the sirens location but all of sudden now it's unbearable and causing disruptionof life ..? Knock it off already.

[@I_also_like_sirens_hehe]

Keep it. Not everyone has a cell phone

[@w9awx1]

The townfolk will compain at how much a more advanced alert platform will cost.

[@leoliu9422]

good job lady you got used to a STH-10

[@sirenmaster1735]

Is it even tested at twelve?

[@tornadochasingsiege]

Fire sirens are used in the case a firefighters pager doesn't work, to wake up firefighters, and to call them to the station if these people want this siren removed, and the pagers don't work and their homes burn down because the firefighters don't have working pagers or a working siren its the citizens fault not the fire fighters

[@flynnlizzy5469]

1:29 No, MAYBERRY has a noon whistle !!

[@neosho53059]

Save it with tornadoes then… test it with the county

[@ThisHandleIsNotTaken.]

So uhh.. probably bad timing but the Maui fired could definitely be an example

[@GhostlyPlayz94]

Replace with a Whelen, at least it won't rattle everything

[@SirensAndAlarmsOfNorthernIL]

Most Whelens are actually louder and even a 2806 can rattle the ground more than an STH-10. I heard both so I can confirm. An STH-10 is also not nearly as loud as most rotating sirens I heard

[@TheBoysTopSecretisOrganization]

STH-10

[@grovecitysirens_GCS]

Do not remove that, it is very much needed not to alert the people, but for weather too, who cares if its too loud and the sound just stays to the ground, thats what its gonna do! Also STH-10 sirens are getting ever rarer, keep that siren active! dont like loud noises boo hoo, ever heard of a lawn mower?

[@blesch]

maybe its supposed to be loud 😭😭

[@RanCan-h6m]

Sick of them they need to go. Cell phones radios pagers etc. Plenty other ways to take the call it's ridiculous

[@diecastcupseries7317]

Unfortunately, most fire departments need them due to the reception in areas that they might not have access to pagers or cell phones so the only way to call them is either by a fire whistle (like this one) or a Gamewell Diaphone horn which would probably make that community complain more because those are horns and not sirens. My fire department along with most of them in the state of New York have one (a few have the Gamewell Diaphone Horns) due to lack of reception in valleys. Even, fire departments located in countrysides need one because of that.

[@fmartinjr]

Its ok ma'am.

[@polandball7482]

The siren type is a sth10

[@mani1639]

Karen alert

[@vintagesimplexfirealarmsof6440]

oh a sth 10

[@petergozinya6122]

All the volunteer firefighters get a b0ner when that siren goes off. They get to drive like A-Holes with their blue lights on.

[@Tigers9596]

Not sure why driving a little faster towards emergencies make us "a-holes," but whatever floats your boat, bud.

[@ff29h2]

All? In my town blue lights are outlawed and the siren has been gone since '11. So no, not all

[@cmritchie04]

@@ff29h2 then you turn around run to Washington DC complaining there is no staffing so you can spend money i.e. safier grant money on facebook AD's stating you have no "volunteer staffing"

[@jerrybutler605]

​@@Tigers9596no, he's right. I've seen it myself. There's no real reason to be breaking the sound barrier to the firehouse. As long as there's some staffing at the station that can take a couple trucks out then slow it down

[@Tigers9596]

@@jerrybutler605 fair enough.

[@toprankintv9122]

Y’all report on a bunch of nothing sometimes smh 🤦🏿‍♂️

[@fmartinjr]

The hell are you talking about?

[@toprankintv9122]

@@fmartinjr you cnt read?

[@fmartinjr]

​@@toprankintv9122not from you!