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Post by 1-5-71 on May 20, 2008 23:42:28 GMT -5
I have a few thoughts on this subject as well. I have been directly involved in 2 fire departments and in-directly involved in a 3rd FD that all use sirens on the roof of their buildings as a secondary alert to their members. One sounds all night long, one sounds 08:00-22:00 and the 3rd from 08:00-20:00. Each FD gets it's fair share of complaints and like it was said earlier, we can all put a list together a mile long stating the pros and cons. Here is some info that was cropped out of the segment and not shown to everybody. From it's conception until 1989 the sirens in EFFD had sounded. In 1989 when a new Chief had taken office the sirens were stopped, and hadn't been sounded until December 8th, 2007, the morning after the current Chief took office. During the time of "silence" the original sirens had been taken down. One came down with the demo of the old HQ, and the other met it's demise in the back of a town truck when it backed into the pole which it was mounted. They were replaced with other sirens obviously not as loud and were only blown at 12 noon. When the sirens began to sound again EFFD received only one regular complaint from a resident behind it's HQ. Upon purchase of the Thunderbolts, the Chief sent out a letter to ALL residents of the community stating what the intentions were with the "new" sirens. Funny how when I got my letter I asked my neighbors how they felt about it they had no idea what I was talking about. To let the truth out, the sirens are only blown from 8am until 8pm and are blown for all alarms. HOWEVER, they have been shortened and have been lowered to try and satisfy the public uproar. Most alarms the siren lasts for approx 30 seconds at most. THAT'S IT! Only blown once (barring any signal 3's)and one round at a time. AND the siren spins 360' and doesn't blow in any one direction for more than 2 seconds. I was dispatching the day after News 12 and Newsday merged and we received 2 phone calls from News 12 asking about the sirens. THE DAY AFTER! So now that they are in bed together I'm sure we can expect much more volly FD bashing from News12. I have been benefit to blowing these sirens while not having the pager on me, so I happen to think it's a great idea. But like I said, that's personal opinion. This long winded post was mostly to clarify the history, and the current working's of the infamous East Farmingdale Siren.
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Post by pfost262 on May 21, 2008 7:05:19 GMT -5
Newsday and News 12 Merged!?
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Post by Ex-Capt371 on May 21, 2008 7:44:14 GMT -5
Yeah, Cablevision bought out Newsday. News12 was our last media outlet. We have no one.
Loo, the way it sounds, EFFD is doing the right thing going 0800-2000. SHorten the blasts and a muffler is the way to go. Now, when people get all pissy, and the media comes knocking, you can say, hey we are trying to accomodate everyone.
PS: Bring back Trish the Dish.
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Post by Crown Manor East on May 21, 2008 8:16:20 GMT -5
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Post by suddenlyseemore on Jun 3, 2008 21:16:34 GMT -5
here goes newsday...
Neighbors cover their ears over E. Farmingdale sirens
BY CHAU LAM
chau.lam@newsday.com
8:19 PM EDT, June 3, 2008
Having lived across the street from an East Farmingdale Fire Department station house for about a quarter century, John Tighe has learned to cope with wailing sirens -- but not the Thunderbolt recently installed on the building's roof.
"If you're outside, you'd be in physical pain and that's not right," said Tighe, an engineer who lives near the firehouse on Wellwood Avenue in West Babylon. "There are sick people and babies living nearby."
The Thunderbolt -- a model which initially was used as an air raid siren when it debuted in the 1950s -- generates 128 decibels at 100 feet, said a technical assistant at manufacturer Federal Signal Corporation in Oak Brook, Ill. The company stopped making the Thunderbolt more than two decades ago and no longer carries parts for the horn.
Shortly after the Wellwood Avenue firehouse began using the Thunderbolt in April, Tighe said he borrowed a sound meter and measured the siren's noise as loud as 103.2 decibels indoors and 109 decibels outside his front door. A jackhammer produces 110 decibels.
"I've been in my basement with the stereo on and the siren drowns it out," said Rob Welsh, 37, who lives next door to Tighe.
Regular exposure to sounds louder than 100 decibels for more than one minute risks permanent hearing loss, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The East Farmingdale Fire Department bought two refurbished model 1003 Thunderbolts late last year to replace old sirens that weren't working properly, said Chief Anthony Nicholes. The Thunderbolts were put to use at the Wellwood and Conklin Avenue firehouses.
"It's a distinct sound. Our guys will know it's us and not a neighboring house," said Nicholes.
Although each of the department's 75 volunteers is issued a pager, Nicholes said there are dead zones in the 17-square mile district where the pagers don't always work. The siren, he said, is a backup form of notification.
After residents complained, Nicholes said he shortened the time the Thunderbolt goes off to a minute for structural fires and 35 seconds for other emergency calls, from two and one minute, respectively. But Tighe and other neighbors said that has not helped.
Nicholes said Thunderbolts are being used by a handful of firehouses on Long Island.
The department's three firehouses received a daily average of 5.5 fire and medical emergency calls combined in 2007, according to its Web site.
The Amityville Village Fire Department, which does not have a Thunderbolt, shortened its siren cycle eight months ago to minimize the high-pitched sound after residents complained, said Chief Harold Miller. Amityville, which plans to hire a paramedic, will use the siren for emergency medical calls only when it is lacking volunteers, he said.
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Post by Gargamel37 on Jun 3, 2008 23:10:43 GMT -5
same as the people who move near an airport, then complain about the plane noise...
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Post by nlfdexcapt on Jun 5, 2008 11:44:49 GMT -5
I'm Sure they would love to hear that siren going off if it was there house on fire or if there family member is laying on the floor in cardiac arrest....Or would they?
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Post by Ex-Capt371 on Jun 6, 2008 7:41:49 GMT -5
Well, after reading this article I have to say that the department has been making reasonable accomodations to the general public. My questions is, do you really need sirens for EMS calls? We dont run them, but if CIHVAC had a siren, they would have to replace the motor daily.
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Post by bfd732 on Jun 6, 2008 10:47:28 GMT -5
In addition to my previous sarcastic remarks regarding this issue (i.e. not being able to hear sirens anyway over the sound of hip hop music from passing cars, Harleys, car alarms and cat's farting...) I have another perspective. I have lived roughly one block from the LIRR my entire life. I'm just wondering if it's reasonable that I ask them to stop running trains after my kids go to bed at night I mean they're so..... noisy. Maybe they don't need to use their air horns at the babylon/central line merge when the frights come through at 3 AM. Maybe the hell with commuters they don't need overhead pages or announcements telling the trains are on-time, turn them off. Maybe we don't need those annoying bells at grade crossings. Everyone has eyes they should just look for the trains coming.
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Post by suddenlyseemore on Jun 6, 2008 11:45:07 GMT -5
I would try to play nice with community instead of having a "screw you" attitude.
Look at the communities which just shot down the proposals for new firehouses. Wouldn't like it too much if a civic association got one of their own elected to a BOFC spot on the platform of a more "responsible" FD
You don't have to worry about commissioners down in 1-2-0 land but, still. No reason to piss off your community unnecessarily.
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Post by Ex-Capt371 on Jun 6, 2008 14:46:26 GMT -5
Hey, i need those late night trains to get home. Screw off Seemore, lol.
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Post by bfd732 on Jun 6, 2008 15:54:49 GMT -5
I don't think it's a "screw you attitude" at all, I'm simply comparing various sources of noise pollution that we all hear every day and night. I also was trying sarcastically to suggest that although I live near the RR that it isn't reasonable for me to ask them to curtail their services or stop using audible signals and messages that provide for the communities saftey and welfare. I view FD horns and sirens in the same way I do RR horns and crossings bells, a - necessary noise. If you live near a FD, the RR, an airport you really should have no expecation that there won't be noises that go along with it. PS - Village Board / BOFC at the end of the day it's the same thing, and let's not talk about new firehouses period (}:
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