CTsirenhunter intro/sirens in Hartford County, CT

[3t22]

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

I smell a road trip, as I'm not too far from Warehouse Point. This would be the 1st Sentry I've seen in the state if it is one. as mentioned neighboring Broad Brook has a 7.5 HP STH on their FD, which I can hear from my apartment as I was telling Dave (I heard it clearly the next morning). Also forgot to mention the Westfield fire district in Middletown had added on at least 1 possibily 2 Model 2s to their fire system. I am in the process of trying to find it's/their exact location(s), as I've only heard it/them once. it/they did a 1:30 attack. I could hear the STH and the mysterious and elusive WS 2000 sounding their usual 4 rounds.

[Rheems1]

Dan,

If you look closely at the picture at the bottom of this e-mail you can sort of see the siren. Look behind the flag, you can just barely see it in this picture. If you do happen to go to Warehouse Point and find yourself at the Broad Brook station... please snap me a picture of thier tankers (a Diamond Reo and supposedly one of the new HME-SL chassis tankers)!! Also, I don't know how far East Litchfield is from you... but they have a Whelen Hornet... you could add that to your list of rare sirens you have seen in person!

Dave Fritz

[CTsirenhunter]

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.

Poquonock is the one place that we didn't go, but our ever-preceptive driver, who had started out the day not even knowing what a Whelen was, suggested that there was most likely another 3016 there because that area is farther away from the rest of Windsor, so it would need a siren to provide full coverage. So she's definitely thinking like a siren hunter now.

Our next goals include getting a better look at some of the Hartford Thunderbolts. However, now that you guys mentioned places like Windsor Locks, Warehouse Point, and Broad Brook, we may want to broaden our search to there. And there's also the tricky little gray Model 2 or 3 on top of the Bloomfield station...

Does anyone know of any interesting sirens in Plainville? I may be going there later this week. And also, does West Hartford have any sirens at all?

[CTsirenhunter]

Ok, I've got a bit of a mystery here. These photos were very nicely taken by my uncle of a siren I had photographed earlier with inferior results. They are of a siren at what is supposed to be the Pine Meadow volunteer fire department, Pine Meadow being a sort of sub-town of New Hartford, CT. What on earth is it?

[Rheems1]

That siren is a Sterling variant of one kind or another, there are a couple of these scattered around but none of us have ever heard one (that I know of). I saw a picture of this siren in a station photograph on Firenews.org.... nice looking siren though.

Dave Fritz

[CTsirenhunter]

Thanks a lot. I had a feeling it was going to be something old (I usually equate Sterling with old). I can't imagine that it puts out a very impressive sound, especially in this condition, but I guess I'd have to ask around if I want to find that out.

Meanwhile, I'm still wondering about sirens in West Hartford and/or Plainville. Any information?

[3t22]

Thanks a lot. I had a feeling it was going to be something old (I usually equate Sterling with old). I can't imagine that it puts out a very impressive sound, especially in this condition, but I guess I'd have to ask around if I want to find that out.

Meanwhile, I'm still wondering about sirens in West Hartford and/or Plainville. Any information?

West Hartford had a 2 rotting away, until someone took it down, and was in hte process of restoring it (it was in very bad shape). Rumor has it that there's an STH or STL on the city hall, but when I drove past it, I couldn't see it. Plainville has diaphragm horns on their FD. If you in that area, check out the Kensington VFD, they have an active I believe Sireno 5. Berlin may also have a siren, but I'm not 100% on that.

[CTsirenhunter]

Thanks for the info, although if and when I pass through Plainville, it will be to have dinner and then go to a concert, so I unfortunately will not be able to go out of my way looking for sirens. In addition, it will be nighttime .

I'll keep an eye on the West Hartford town hall...I've never seen anything there either, but maybe I can go in and ask one day. I guess they must not have a volunteer fire department, yet many of their stations seem kind of small for firefighters to be living in. Ah, what do I know about these things...

[CTsirenhunter]

Ok, I just spent the evening in Plainville and passed their fire station and Farmington's main one twice during my travels. However, it was dark, so I saw no sirens. I wonder where the Plainville horns are...perhaps in the station's tower. I gotta say, the building seems a bit new for diaphragm horns, but I don't know if age is actually ever a factor. Also, talked with a friend from Vernon (moving to West Hartford) who knows nothing about sirens....turns out she remembers the old Model 5 in Vernon that got replaced recently. It was really funny describing a 5 to someone uninitiated in the ways of sirens...I hope I expressed the dimensions properly...

So what does Farmington/Unionville have for sirens?

[CTsirenhunter]

Well, I just went to New Rochelle and back yesterday to visit my grandparents and cousins. I didn't see any of the Waterbury Thunderbolts, but I did find that elusive siren that I thought was a 2t22 beside the railroad track across from the Tilcon facility right alongside I-84 at one point. I was wrong about everything. It was an STH-10 and it was all the way over in Danbury. I took the photo a bit too late and it wasn't zoomed in at all, but you can see the siren. I circled it for everyone's convenience. However, the red circle turned out very faint, so the siren remains a bit hard to find at first sight.