jp_24
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Do fire stations regularly test their sirens?

Fri May 13, 2016 3:09 am

Hi everybody, I have a question about something that I have been wondering about.

So some fire stations still use their sirens for fire calls, EMT calls, etc.

I was wondering, do they usually also do a regular test too? I mean they must have a regular test anyway to make sure all of the equipment is in good shape? Or does the frequency of fire calls usually make the idea of having a siren test useless.

This was something I had been wondering. There are a few cool fire stations with sirens around me that I've been dying to hear but i don't know when they go off.

Thanks

BTW if you are a fire fighter, feel free to chime in what your station's policy is. Especially if you are in PA and know of any regular siren testing for that matter.
Last edited by jp_24 on Fri May 13, 2016 10:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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flatlandsparky
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Re: Do fire stations regularly test their sirens?

Fri May 13, 2016 5:00 am

Fleming Colorado (both Federals SD-10 and Model 2T) still use their sirens for fire/medical calls. Its a 3 minute attack signal. They also do the same signal every third wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. to call the volunteers for the monthly fire meetings.

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Re: Do fire stations regularly test their sirens?

Fri May 13, 2016 6:27 am

Avilla, IN uses 3 minute attack for tests on Mondays at 7:00 pm except for the winter, and use it for firecalls. They use alert for severe weather though.
In my opinion, I think there way too many 2001's in Indiana!


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r4tbolts
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Re: Do fire stations regularly test their sirens?

Fri May 13, 2016 12:35 pm

It's been my experience that Fire Departments that use a siren for calls often do the Noon siren cycle that winds up an peaks one time then winds down. It let's the FD know the siren works daily except Sunday as not to disturb the Church services.

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Fireman61341
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Re: Do fire stations regularly test their sirens?

Fri May 13, 2016 5:26 pm

Marseilles IL fire department uses their Model 7 for daytime fire calls and tornadoes. It's tested every Monday at 6pm (if the dispatcher in Ottawa remembers), 5 cycles of attack. There's a couple videos of it on YouTube.

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Re: Do fire stations regularly test their sirens?

Fri May 13, 2016 6:43 pm

Up here it depends on the town. Some eliminated daily tests do to complaints but still continue to sound them for calls, some still do a daily test at either noon or 6 pm plus sound for calls, some only sound a daily test but don't sound for calls. Than you have towns like Glastonbury CT, which not only sound for calls, but also do a daily noon test Mon-Sat (most FD's traditionally don't sound a daily signal on Sundays), and since also use them for other emergencies, test on the 1st Saturday of the month at 11 am in one minute alert, one minute silence, one minute attack.
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E712
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Re: Do fire stations regularly test their sirens?

Sun May 15, 2016 10:51 pm

Here in Ontario county NY, sirens are tested on Monday nights. Most fire departments also do noon tests as well.
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Lily D
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Re: Do fire stations regularly test their sirens?

Tue May 17, 2016 1:41 pm

3t22 wrote:Up here it depends on the town. Some eliminated daily tests do to complaints but still continue to sound them for calls, some still do a daily test at either noon or 6 pm plus sound for calls, some only sound a daily test but don't sound for calls. Than you have towns like Glastonbury CT, which not only sound for calls, but also do a daily noon test Mon-Sat (most FD's traditionally don't sound a daily signal on Sundays), and since also use them for other emergencies, test on the 1st Saturday of the month at 11 am in one minute
alert, one minute silence, one minute attack.
When I went to Glastonbury, they did 30 seconds of alert, 10 seconds of silence, and 30 seconds of attack. They may have changed it.
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gman 1
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Re: Do fire stations regularly test their sirens?

Tue May 17, 2016 1:44 pm

My area, Peoria, IL doesn't normally test their fire sirens, so what I do is ride my bike to a nearby fire house and wait for the tones to start up, then I start my camera up.
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3t22
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Re: Do fire stations regularly test their sirens?

Wed May 18, 2016 10:17 pm

Lily D wrote:
3t22 wrote:Up here it depends on the town. Some eliminated daily tests do to complaints but still continue to sound them for calls, some still do a daily test at either noon or 6 pm plus sound for calls, some only sound a daily test but don't sound for calls. Than you have towns like Glastonbury CT, which not only sound for calls, but also do a daily noon test Mon-Sat (most FD's traditionally don't sound a daily signal on Sundays), and since also use them for other emergencies, test on the 1st Saturday of the month at 11 am in one minute
alert, one minute silence, one minute attack.
When I went to Glastonbury, they did 30 seconds of alert, 10 seconds of silence, and 30 seconds of attack. They may have changed it.
Depends on the dispatcher. Sometimes they do 30 each, sometime a minute each, sometimes 30 alert 10 attack.
Proud owner of a 2T, 5, M-5, 1000 Head, 7T, 3T22, and a single toned 2

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