BERLIN– Following several months of discussion, the town and the fire company agreed to move the fire siren pole behind the police station in order to help alleviate noise complaints.
Guests and residents in downtown Berlin were startled on the morning of July 4 when the siren malfunctioned, staying on for close to a half hour.
“The siren went off at like 6 in the morning,” said Electric Utility Director Tim Lawrence. “It was very disruptive to residents that lived in the area, and that’s where most of it all came about at that point to do something about the siren.”
On July 17, Berlin Fire Chief David T. Lewis sent an email to Town Administrator Laura Allen stating, “The chiefs of the Berlin Fire Company met earlier today and decided we would like the fire siren to only blow during the hours of 07:00-22:00 hours every day.” The Mayor and Council drafted their own letter supporting the change during a meeting on July 28.
The Fire Company later reversed their decision and, as a compromise, the town will install a new utility pole on Sept. 13 at the existing location, effectively raising the siren 10 feet.
“The county and the fire department came and said they weren’t going to limit the time frame that the siren could work,” said Lawrence. “When they came back and said that basically they weren’t going to restrict the timeframe that the siren could operate, that’s when it was decided that we were going to raise it.
“We actually were talking about relocating it to a different site, but then the fire department and County Emergency Services didn’t want us to move it, so we settled on trying to get it higher,” Lawrence added.
The siren, which goes off several times each day, is within a few feet of several offices in Town Hall.
“The siren is so close to the back of the building – we have a few people who work in offices right below that siren – and when it goes off it’s deafening,” Lawrence said. “We’re figuring if we raise it up higher it’s getting further away from the building so it won’t be as bad noise wise.”
Lawrence admitted he did not know how much of a difference the move would actually make.
“If you get it higher it’s not bouncing off the buildings,” Lawrence continued. “If it’s lower and you’ve got surrounding buildings that are higher it’s basically bouncing off the exterior walls of the building. By raising it 10 feet higher we’re thinking it’s going to be above all the rooftops so you won’t have that echoing effect in the downtown area.”
The new 65-foot pole cost the town $2,012.40. Lawrence estimated the total cost of the project, including labor and the rental of a crane, to be just under $4,000.
Guests and residents in downtown Berlin were startled on the morning of July 4 when the siren malfunctioned, staying on for close to a half hour.
“The siren went off at like 6 in the morning,” said Electric Utility Director Tim Lawrence. “It was very disruptive to residents that lived in the area, and that’s where most of it all came about at that point to do something about the siren.”
On July 17, Berlin Fire Chief David T. Lewis sent an email to Town Administrator Laura Allen stating, “The chiefs of the Berlin Fire Company met earlier today and decided we would like the fire siren to only blow during the hours of 07:00-22:00 hours every day.” The Mayor and Council drafted their own letter supporting the change during a meeting on July 28.
The Fire Company later reversed their decision and, as a compromise, the town will install a new utility pole on Sept. 13 at the existing location, effectively raising the siren 10 feet.
“The county and the fire department came and said they weren’t going to limit the time frame that the siren could work,” said Lawrence. “When they came back and said that basically they weren’t going to restrict the timeframe that the siren could operate, that’s when it was decided that we were going to raise it.
“We actually were talking about relocating it to a different site, but then the fire department and County Emergency Services didn’t want us to move it, so we settled on trying to get it higher,” Lawrence added.
The siren, which goes off several times each day, is within a few feet of several offices in Town Hall.
“The siren is so close to the back of the building – we have a few people who work in offices right below that siren – and when it goes off it’s deafening,” Lawrence said. “We’re figuring if we raise it up higher it’s getting further away from the building so it won’t be as bad noise wise.”
Lawrence admitted he did not know how much of a difference the move would actually make.
“If you get it higher it’s not bouncing off the buildings,” Lawrence continued. “If it’s lower and you’ve got surrounding buildings that are higher it’s basically bouncing off the exterior walls of the building. By raising it 10 feet higher we’re thinking it’s going to be above all the rooftops so you won’t have that echoing effect in the downtown area.”
The new 65-foot pole cost the town $2,012.40. Lawrence estimated the total cost of the project, including labor and the rental of a crane, to be just under $4,000.