CTsirenhunter intro/sirens in Hartford County, CT

[CTsirenhunter]

I would like to announce the following:

Simsbury, CT no longer seems to have a daily noon test/noon whistle. For 2-3 days in a row, I have gone outside with my camera to get a video of the noon whistle I assumed would happen, and nothing happened. This is a very disappointing development.

[CTsirenhunter]

I was in Durham, CT this morning and I am happy to report that they have a siren. However, it is unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you view such things) one of those old Whelens that just consists of four sets of several speakers...a WS-2000, maybe? My fellow CT siren expert 3t22 would know. But still, nice to know that it's there. This being CT, its purpose is of course to sound for fire calls. Here it is in Bird's Eye View: http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&F ... &encType=1

[3t22]

I was in Durham, CT this morning and I am happy to report that they have a siren. However, it is unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you view such things) one of those old Whelens that just consists of four sets of several speakers...a WS-2000, maybe? My fellow CT siren expert 3t22 would know. But still, nice to know that it's there. This being CT, its purpose is of course to sound for fire calls. Here it is in Bird's Eye View: http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&F ... &encType=1

That's my "home turf" there. Most of my father's side lives in the Durham/Middlefield area. Durham's siren is a former Ct Yankee WS-2016. They use to have an STH-10, which sat on the ground, under the tower for about 3 years before I assume it was scrapped. The 2016 is of course a fire siren sounding wail for all FD calls 24/7 and one blast at noon daily both activated using DTMF.

[CTsirenhunter]

I was in Durham, CT this morning and I am happy to report that they have a siren. However, it is unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you view such things) one of those old Whelens that just consists of four sets of several speakers...a WS-2000, maybe? My fellow CT siren expert 3t22 would know. But still, nice to know that it's there. This being CT, its purpose is of course to sound for fire calls. Here it is in Bird's Eye View: http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&F ... &encType=1

That's my "home turf" there. Most of my father's side lives in the Durham/Middlefield area. Durham's siren is a former Ct Yankee WS-2016. They use to have an STH-10, which sat on the ground, under the tower for about 3 years before I assume it was scrapped. The 2016 is of course a fire siren sounding wail for all FD calls 24/7 and one blast at noon daily both activated using DTMF.

Thank you very much! I have observed that you always seem to notice and reply to the posts in my thread relevant to your area of familiarity in CT. This is why I say to people here that we are an effective team!

[slant-40]

To CTSirenhunter and 3t22 - I am going to be visiting the Shelton/Derby/Ansonia/Seymour area later this month. I am primarily hunting for Diaphone, but any interesting sirens would be good to see as well. Does Ansonia still have any horns? I couldn't tell from Google Street View. Huntington (Shelton) has one fire station that looks like it could have as many as four horns! Are there any Thunderbolts in that area?

thanks!

[3t22]

To CTSirenhunter and 3t22 - I am going to be visiting the Shelton/Derby/Ansonia/Seymour area later this month. I am primarily hunting for Diaphone, but any interesting sirens would be good to see as well. Does Ansonia still have any horns? I couldn't tell from Google Street View. Huntington (Shelton) has one fire station that looks like it could have as many as four horns! Are there any Thunderbolts in that area?

thanks!

I believe Ansonia still has it's Diaphone system, and it's still operational. Not too sure about Derby, and I don't think Seymour uses anything anymore (I could be wrong).

Now if your looking for Thunderbolts in that area, Bridgeport, Waterbury and New Haven are the cities to go to, but all have been inactive for about a decade. The T-bolts are scattered around each city. Only locations I know for sure are in New Haven near St Raphial's hospital, and In Waterbury off I-84 very close to the brass city mall. You may see another in Bridgeport off I-95.

New Haven and the surrounding Havens (East Haven West Haven, and North Haven) also have 5 and 7Ts scattered around (my 7T was one of them). Also in East Haven on one of their FDs at the Rt 80 (Foxen Rd) and 100 intersection they have a Model 1 and a very well hidden rusty set of diaphragn horns. I'm not sure if those horns are still there or not as they were doing roof work last I drove past it.

http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=na ... =en&tab=wl
http://easthavenfire.com/photos.html

There's a Diaphone on the Main St HQ. I suspect it's still in use.

Right next door from the FD on North High St you'll see one of the previously mentioned 5T on what looked to be an old school that I think is some sort of town office now.

http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=na ... =en&tab=wl

If your a fan of electronic sirens Milford has a small system of WPS 2805s.

If you've got the time, and want to see and hear some really good sounding Diaphones, head over to Wethersfield, which is about 5 miles to the south of Hartford. They still do 2 blasts at noon daily, and sound it for every FD call from 8am-8pm (got to love belly aching neighbors).

If I think of any other locations I'll pass it along.

[slant-40]

Thank you 3T22! I am going to start making my map straight way, starting with Huntington (Shelton) and ending with East Haven. Looks like it's going to be an overniter!

[iamdave]

Meridan also has a system of T-bolts.

Shelton has the following sirens at the volunteeer fire stations.

Company 4(Pine Rock Park) - Model 2 still in service for fire calls. runs in Attack.
Company 5(White Hills) - Model 2. i've never heard this one run but it's on the edge of the fire station property. looks like it hasn't run in years.

Companies 1(downtown shelton) and 3(huntington) have some form of air horn.

Company 3's air horn goes off at 7pm and at noon and for fire calls.

Company 1's airhorn follows the same schedule and activates for fire calls.

Company 1's may be a diaphone as we've got diaphone boxes around the old downtown section.

There is also a model 2 on a phone pole a mile or so past company 4's station. I've never heard it run but the power is still on.

[slant-40]

Thanks for the info regarding Shelton. I saw Co.3 (Huntington) in Google street view, and it appears that there are no fewer than three (3) horns, and they all appear to be diaphones. I couldn't see round the fourth side. I've never heard of FOUR diaphones in one spot, but I have seen three.
Company 1 is confirmed two diaphones, that's clearly visible. I am trying to avoid a gas-wasting wild goose chase in Ansonia, so any information that can be passed along would be very much appreciated.

thanks!

[CTsirenhunter]

Well, some firefighters showed up last night to do the yearly test of the hydrant fed by my pond, and I took the opportunity to ask some of the lieutenants about the town siren system. The first one I spoke to didn't have much to say, but the second did tell me a few interesting things. One is that they decided to abandon the tradition of a noon whistle because people were complaining about it, and that for the same reason they don't even use the siren for fire calls after 7 PM. Don't leap to criticize them for this...the guy I talked to isn't happy about it either.

However, here's the real kicker: he told me what was in place before the current system of six Whelen WPS-2740 omnis was put in about 20 years ago. This guy said he'd been with department for about 30 years, and that his grandfather had been in it since the 60's, and that before the Whelens, the town used a multitude of Model 2's positioned around town for fire calls. He didn't actually say Model 2's, but he said "Sirens very much like the one on top of the old Bushy Hill station", which is a Model 2. However, he said something slightly unbelievable: that there were 25-30 of them. That's a LOT of sirens, even for a spread-out (and at the time quite rural) town like Simsbury. I think he may have gotten his numbers wrong by accident.