Interlake Sirens Update

[Manitoba]

This is just a little update on the status of the two Canadian Model 2s at Winnipeg Beach and Gimli.

First of all, the Model 2 at Winnipeg Beach has been relocated to a 45-foot steel tower. This confirms that they will be demolishing the old fire hall, and that the siren is indeed still in use, as I predicted.

On Wednesday, I volunteered for setup at the Gimli Film Festival. While driving to and from venues, I noticed that the Model 2 on the fire hall was missing, and that Manitoba Hydro appeared to be cutting the power to the entire station. A few hours later, myself and my neighbour from across the street (he was also volunteering) were out placing signs, and I mentioned the siren to him, since he has an interest for all things fire and EMS. We took a walk over to the hall, and sure enough, the siren was lying on the pavement beside the station, pole and all!

I do recall reading in the newspaper two weeks ago that the town had given the VFD $2.15 million to fund a new fire station at the site of the old one. The old station, which was built in 1970, will be demolished as soon as the town approves the design plan. The new station will be a pre-fabricated steel building (the current one is brick) and will have 5 equipment bays (the current one has 3). The new facility will also have offices for the fire chief and deputy fire chief, a classroom for training volunteers, and a second-floor mezzanine for future expansion.

As soon as I got home, I E-mailed the mayor, asking him if the siren was going to be re-installed on the new building. I suggested revising the activation procedure, as there would be no way for a tourist to differentiate the fire call signal from the shelter-in-place signal. I also recommended the addition of a radio activation system, so a volunteer wouldn't have to haul arse to the fire hall during a tornado. I also told the mayor that if the siren is not going to be re-installed, I would be willing to make a donation to the VFD in exchange for the siren.

Sorry, no pictures yet. I'll see if I can get some today.

Also, I will be leaving for the Twin Cities on Sunday. I'll try and get some siren pics while I'm down there!

[Manitoba]

Got some pics. Unfortunately, the siren in Gimli is no longer at the station, and the station itself is surrounded by chain-link fence. My guess is that the siren is being stored at the temporary fire hall, AKA the public works garage.

Here are some pictures of the siren in Winnipeg Beach:

IMG_1082.JPG (255.33 KiB) Viewed 1610 times

IMG_1083.JPG (263.7 KiB) Viewed 1610 times

IMG_1084.JPG (100.21 KiB) Viewed 1610 times

This picture shows where the siren used to be on the old building, which you can kind of see in the first picture:

Wpg Beach Siren 001.JPG (275.25 KiB) Viewed 1610 times

And, for those who may be interested, here's a pic of the Gimli siren (not mine):

RMFireDept.jpg (29.13 KiB) Viewed 1610 times

Finally, I got a response from the Mayor. He forwarded my request to the Chief Administrative Officer.