![]() ![]() The Bellevue Volunteer Fire Company said they have a siren as part of their “readiness plan,” but only sound it “for events where the typical pager system has failed” or for a natural disaster or terrorist attack. “We’re trying to get a happy balance somewhere in between.” “There’s people that hate it and there’s people that think it serves a need,” Von Hofen said. Von Hofen said he’s heard similar criticisms in Sewickley. Other stations still have horns, but many don’t use them because residents complained about the noise. The ropes going directly up the staircase are the manual trigger for the fire horn. “A lot of people think they were boat horns or ship horns or from a mill, but it was always designed as a fire horn.”ĩ0.5 WESA The view from the main floor of the Cochran Hose Company in Sewickley, Pa., looking up toward the station's fire horn. ![]() “It was designed, initially, as a fire horn,” Von Hofen said. It’s not like that anymore, Von Hofen said, usually the horn blasts for about 16 seconds. Originally Sewickley's was programmed to blow different cadences based on the location of the fire. Many can be heard from as far as 6 miles away. The air-powered metal horn was a popular model for fire stations. But over time, the bells broke and in 1919, the Sewickley station decided to purchase a sturdy Gamewell Diaphone. They’d rush to the station and ring a large bell to alert the volunteers. Now, the company has several Pierce Engine firetrucks that can pump about 1,000 gallons per minute.īefore cell phones and pagers, Von Hofen said fire officers would be alerted to a blaze via electric bells that’d been installed in their homes. Eventually, horses carried volunteers to a blaze. Firefighters used hand-drawn hose carts and fetched water from wells and cisterns. Sewickley’s station operated much like others in western Pennsylvania in the 19th century. This is part of our Good Question! series where we investigate what you've always wondered about Pittsburgh, its people and its culture.
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