Picked up my first "big" siren today! This siren came from the Camp Springs fire department in Campbell County, KY. When I first saw the siren back in 2008, it was mounted on a steel communications tower beside the station. If I remember correctly, this was the first Whelen I ever saw. I definitely remember thinking it was odd to see one in our area, and that still mostly applies today. Anyways, September of that same year, Hurricane Ike passed through as a tropical depression, bringing high winds to much of the Tri-State area. The winds, combined with the weight of this siren on the tower caused the tower to split in two. After that, the siren was removed from the tower, and was put into storage in the basement of the station. Fast forward 9 years, Michael, Gary and I are on our way back from recording a 7V8 in Bracken County, and we decide to stop and take pictures of a prototype 1212 in Flagg Springs, KY. We meet someone at the station there and discuss our interests, and he says he has to show us something at the Camp Springs station. Now, I already knew it was gonna be the 2804 sitting there in the basement, as someone from that station had posted a photo on the Board at one point. Regardless, we went there, and it was neat seeing it up close. I got the firefighter's contact, and called him not to long after. A few more calls, some confirmations and approvals, and he picked up one day and said "Come and pick it up." So two days later (today), I did just that. This thing is pretty heavy, although it wasn't terribly difficult to get it on and off of the trailer. It was manufactured in 1993, with parts of the housing being cast in June, July, and August of that year. Not sure if it was installed this same year. As far as the controller goes, it's gone from the station and no one knows where it went. I'm going to have to see about getting one if I want to run this thing up. Michael, August, and I removed each driver and the wire harness and cleaned each cell inside and out. So that's about it!
Original location:
Close-up:
Basement of the station:
All loaded up!
Side-view:
Plenty of straps!
Bottom:
Whelen homecoming!
Size comparison:
Michael and I:
Whelen in the rain:
Michael, August, and I:
A tad zoomed in:
Drivers must be blown...
Solo shot:
Drivers removed:
Christian Bricking, living in the Cincinnati Metropolitan Area.
Owner of a WPS-2804, Model L, and B9.
Certified Skywarn spotter since April 5, 2016.
