CTsirenhunter intro/sirens in Hartford County, CT

[CTsirenhunter]

Waterbury- Federal Thunderbolt visible from Route 84...looks to be on the City Hall possibly.

Rats, foiled again!
By that, I mean that every time we go to visit my grandparents in New York, we take I-84 through Waterbury. To think that I've been missing a T-bolt all this time...

And thanks for the Haverford info, Rheems1. I think I may have seen the Oakmont one...if I remember correctly, it looked to be somewhat in disrepair, which makes sense for a siren you have never heard go off.

[Rheems1]

The Oakmont siren is mounted on the hose tower of the firehouse, it was red the last time I was there. The Manoa siren is the one that is in really bad shape, the access door is missing, the top cowling is cracked and broken and the very top of the siren is flattened down like something was dropped on it. It is in very poor shape and I am not surprised it got replaced, the Sentry is yellow in color and is mounted on top of the little cupola that holds the Fedalcode Model 5. The STH-10 at the Brookline has a really good and smooth wind up.... it is possible you might have been hearing this siren (it is also a 12 port siren) also. The T-bolt in Waterbury would be to your right if you were going towards New York and is grey in color.. hopefully you get to see it the next time you go to your grandparents.

Dave Fritz

[CTsirenhunter]

Not another gray Thunderbolt! I've been trying to find one in Hartford that's gray! Now, none of these siren descriptions from Haverford seem right. I am more or less positive I saw a Model 5, but it was mounted like this one: http://www.airraidsirens.com/forums/vie ... php?t=2549. It wasn't on a single pole or on a firehouse. Perhaps it was not literally in Haverford, but one of the surrounding towns. For what it's worth, it wasn't in a town center of any sort, but sort of out on the road somewhere.

UPDATE 12/8/07: I have confirmed that the Avon, CT fire station in front of Avon High School has on its roof a dark red STH-10, looking a bit weathered but otherwise fine. I will interview my friends from Avon and find out if they have ever heard it while in school.

Also, I remember how I got interested in sirens. I used to love fire alarms when I was in fourth/fifth/sixth grade (now I dislike them quite a bit) and recently, I was curious about them, so I wound up seeing fire alarm videos on Youtube. Some were actually Dan's (y'know, 3t22). From there, I somehow got to some videos of Sentry CD sirens, and I was hooked. Haven't seen those sentry videos ever again, oddly enough...

[CTsirenhunter]

Here are photos of the twin sirens at Bushy Hill station, part of the Simsbury VFD system.

First, the current siren, one of the ubiquitous Whelens:


Second, the Model 2 in the cupola that I mentioned in my intro post as the very first Model 2, actually very first mechanical siren, actually first siren of any kind that wasn't one of those Whelens that I ever saw. It is currently inactive, and this is the old, unused fire station that it is on top of


I got these photos when the car I was in was stopped at a traffic light. I couldn't get a photo of the STH-10 on the station at Avon High School because the car was moving too fast and some small trees got in the way of my line of sight.

[Joey P 3]

Waterbury- Federal Thunderbolt visible from Route 84...looks to be on the City Hall possibly.

Rats, foiled again!
By that, I mean that every time we go to visit my grandparents in New York, we take I-84 through Waterbury. To think that I've been missing a T-bolt all this time...

And thanks for the Haverford info, Rheems1. I think I may have seen the Oakmont one...if I remember correctly, it looked to be somewhat in disrepair, which makes sense for a siren you have never heard go off.

I see that thunderbolt a few times a year on the way up north for Auto Racing(my dad and I race....Joey Payne is the name for any of you who go to the races.)

[CTsirenhunter]

On the way to my girlfirend's house today (that's where I am now), I passed the John F. Kennedy school in Windsor. I noticed that they have another WS 3016. Meanwhile, we are about to go out to lunch in a few minutes and I hope to get a closer look at the siren near the center of town at John Fitch (former high school) and maybe hear the noon test.

[CTsirenhunter]

Well, today has been a very sucessful day of siren hunting in Windsor. We photographed three WS 3016s: one at the former John Fitch school (now apartments for the elderly), the John F. Kennedy School, and the Roger Wolcott Early Childhood Center. This last place is where my girlfriend's mom teaches on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. She says there is no daily noon test, but she has heard it sound for fire calls whenever they occur. She actually always just thought it was an enormous fire truck passing by because she never knew that sirens of this sort even existed in her town.

The real prize, however, was on top of the Windsor Public Safety Complex building, the central police, fire, and EMS station for the town that's right near I-91. Sure enough, I wasn't imagining it: there's a two-horn Diaphone, greened with age and oxidation, up on the roof. It's only visible from the other side of the street though.

Pictures will come when I'm back home!

[CTsirenhunter]

All photosets begin with a context picture of the place that they are in, which is followed by the actual siren photos.

First, the former John Fitch school on Bloomfield Avenue near the center of Windsor.









Next, the John F. Kennedy school













The last Whelen we saw was at the Roger Wolcott Early Childhood Center















And finally, coolest of all...the Diaphone! It's kind of small, so look carefully.

[3t22]

All photosets begin with a context picture of the place that they are in, which is followed by the actual siren photos.

First, the former John Fitch school on Bloomfield Avenue near the center of Windsor.









Next, the John F. Kennedy school













The last Whelen we saw was at the Roger Wolcott Early Childhood Center















And finally, coolest of all...the Diaphone! It's kind of small, so look carefully.

the 3016 at the Roger Wolcott Early Childhood Center, is visable from I-291. Everytime I've driven past it, it's facing in the same direction, so I'm not sure if that one's still active or not. The Diaphones are news to me. great find. I hope their still active. Also I just remembered Wolcott has an active siren system. Comprising of 2s 5Ts, WS 2016s, 2 SD-10s that were as of a few years ago "coming soon". They test on the 1st saturday of the month at noon for 20 seconds. here's a link with the siren locations http://www.wolcottct.com/detail.cfm?&sid=21&nid=105 Now this site has not been updated in a long time, so I'm sure the SD-10s are up and running. I'd go up there to catch a test myself, but because our monthly test is on the same day at that time I can't

[Rheems1]

Nice pictures! Always nice to see a Whelen 3016 (my favorite of the Whelen series)... when I went through the area I saw a Whelen 3016 behind Poquonock Station 1. Also on the firehouse at Windsor Locks they have a set of diaphram horns but right at the entrance to the public safety center there is a Whelen 2805... not sure if that is for fire calls now or if that is a weather siren. As I was wandering around I think I saw a Sentry at one of the Warehouse Point stations but I am not sure (it was getting dark).

Dave