The Siren Board

New guy here. Doing my due diligence.

Our community in the remote Rocky Mountains is developing an evacuation plan in the event of catastrophic fire. Beetles have recently arrived here and will soon decimate the forest and radically exacerbate fire potential. This little town at 10,000 feet is at the end of a 17-mile-long narrow, winding, dirt road. It is very popular in the summer to tourists, 100,000 or so visiting here from May to September. Camping, fishing, etcetera. Four-wheel-drive trails into the remote mountains begin here.

Part of our problem is notifying campers and tourists in these remote locations that they are vulnerable and should evacuate. Cell phones do not work here.

We have concluded that an air raid siren is the best solution to the notification problem. The requirement is for its audible sound to reach five miles in two directions roughly 180 degrees apart. 230 volt two phase electricity from a 15kw lpg fired generator is available. A mounting site 30-feet above the ground is available.

We have a low budget but good electrical engineering support and think we could make a purse out of a sows ear if need be.

Could someone speak to these issues?

ccstelmo

Depending on your budget, your options may vary. If you are needing to cover a 5 mile radius, you will likely need to install more than one siren, because most sirens are only effective for a mile to a mile and a half, and hilly/rocky terrain will have an even greater effect on the siren's performance.

If you are looking for a mechanical siren, Federal Signal and Sentry are the ones to look at first. Federal Signal has a simple range of sirens from high power rotating sirens, to more simple omni-directional sirens. Their equipment is the most advanced and worry free on the market, with two-way monitoring to verify the siren's status at all times. Sentry by contrast solely does omni-directional sirens with multiple models with varying power. Sentry's equipment is more elementary than Federal's, but will get the job done, plain and simple. Both companies do offer battery backup units, which may be beneficial for power outages.


Your other option is refurbishment. This market is a little tricky, because it's difficult to find people close by that actually do this and activation equipment may be a shot in the dark.


Electronic sirens will work, but I don't recommend them for this particular use case.

For this case, i'd suggest Sentry, which happens to be based out of Canon City, CO. Their sirens are simple, using only one moving part (with the exception of their dual motor models). Less moving parts, equal less parts that can fail. Their sirens are very cost effective, and Sentry is open to doing custom configurations to their sirens per the customers request.

You’d definitely be better off with Sentry if you go for a new siren. However, depending how limited your budget is, you may opt for a obtaining a used siren.

Low budget. Meaning used is going to be their best bet. I doubt you have $30,000+ laying around for a new siren. I woukd suggest a Thunderbolt 1000t. They pack a hell of a punch and tend to outlast their mounting provided they are maintained, not to mention going to be the best bang for your buck as far as sound output and distance. That being said, 5 miles is a long reach, so you may look into two of them. I'd ballpark the cost of the units themselves $1000-2000 each. The lower tone they produce is notorious for carrying some distance and getting your attention, in fact the Thunderbolt mounted on a high rise two miles away from my work can be heard plain as day.

I have several refurbished sirens available at a fraction of the cost of a new siren. PM Sent.

A pair of well placed Whelen 29xx series would serve your area well with a voice capability for out of towners who may not understand why the siren is sounding. Being a small town you may qualify for matching USDA funds for purchasing. If you're going mechanical then Sentry is probably the way to go. Simple and loud as hell.

Now that I think about it Sentry has a new electronic voice capable siren available.