The Siren Board

Saturday was a big day - I went on a trip out to Sauk Prairie to record the original Red Arrow siren go off for a noon blast. Then there so much more - I'll divide it into a few posts, so we will begin with the sirens spotted and recorded.

On the way, I saw a gray EOWS 115 in Arlington, Wisconsin. It decided to play hide-and-don't-seek with the camera on the roadside but I have pinned it down on the maps: it's near the fire station on a tower. Conversely no sirens were spotted in the village of Lodi however the maps suggest they have a Model 5.

Then I made my way to Sauk City and Prairie du Sac. I had asked beforehand to ensure the sirens would test today - and they would. All went well and I took some photos of the siren I recorded: the very first electric Red Arrow siren. It's shown its age and could do with a checkup eventually, but it's hanging in there. Careful inspection reveals this Red Arrow is painted deep red. It was the village's original fire siren. After a long career and multiple breakdowns, it was replaced with an STH-10. The Red Arrow was then moved to the water tower's spot where it stands today. Also spotted was the nice STH-10. A good, reliable siren and one of my favorites from the older Federal lineup. In Prairie du Sac, three more sirens were found. First comes a Sentry 10V2T. There's been a lot of talk regarding "that" forum post from the other week. I want to get this over with once and for all. I realize that the Yarberrys were hurt by my comments, which I didn't really understand until the other day - I want to apologize for what I said, and I realize my observations weren't so well founded after all. They largely came about from comments made by others I've spoken to: people who I similarly trust and accept information from. I'm not going to name-drop because enough people were hurt already, and I don't want anymore conflicts. What happens is sometimes people offer conflicting sides to a story, I don't know who to go with, and I'm stuck in-between having to figure out what's what without upsetting anyone. This was one of those occasions where things went wrong. It would be great if Mr. Yarberry would return to read this. On a brighter note, the 10V2T is a rather good siren. While the 3V8 mentioned elsewhere isn't bad for a small range siren, this 10V2T does a great job at making more noise. I do admire how Sentry's still producing a dual head vertical siren. This one is a dual tone siren, 8-16 blades. I could easily hear it alongside the other sirens in Sauk Prairie during the noon blasts. It doesn't have too much corrosion and its horns do project sound. It might not be the loudest siren, but it's certainly loud enough to hold its own. It also makes for a good bird condo. After the test, at least eight or nine birds were roosting inside the siren and there is a nest in one of the horns.

Next, their own Red Arrow. This is a Model 12, 12 horsepower with 10-15 blades. As the story goes, it came from the city of Verona and replaced Prairie du Sac's original Red Arrow siren which dated to 1927. It looks great and sounded off for the noon blasts. I remember Bill Nagler did a fine job restoring this siren years ago. There is also this Allertor 125. A large and vicious looking beast compared to the Red Arrow, it serves well despite some setbacks with drawing in rainwater periodically. I suppose the drainage hole at the bottom of its snorkel ought to be checked to cure that, although it got through the last Winter without and severe freeze-ups. The Allertor tends to get a lot of flack, usually because it looks like a monster toilet snorkel. I do stand by these sirens as well: they serve nicely despite their flaws and they're very loud when running in the right direction. Many once existed across the state and it was a treat to see another one. The last one I saw was in 2011, a dark gray Allertor in the town of St. Peter, Wisconsin. Coming up next: some preserved Red Arrow and Decot sirens.

Lodi has a Model 5 It is at the Golf Course and is on a Digital 3 phase convertor. It does not sound on a daily base.