FIRE-ENGINE SIRENS

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 148, 18 March 1939, Page 7

FIRE-ENGINE SIRENS

Heid To Be Necessary As Warnings REPLY TO COMPLAINT ABOUT NOISE Recent criticism by members of the Wellington City Council of street noises in the City, particularly those disturbing people at night, and an opinion voiced by the mayor, Mr. Hislop, that

the noises made by fire-engine sirens could be reduced, were replied to at a meeting of the Wellington Eire Board yesterday.

The subject was one which concerned the brigade and the manner in which it performed its duties, said the chaiiinau, Mr. S. S. Dean. He had talked the matter over with the superintendent who had prepared a report, which, he thought, met the charges which had beeu made in another place. Iu bis report Superintendent Woolley stated that under Section 48 of the Fire Brigades Act the superintendent, upon any alarm of tire, was required to proceed with all possible speed to the fire. It was evident, he suggested, that a fire brigade superintendent would be failing in his duties and responsibilities to the public under this section unless he interpreted this statutory instruction as one to proceed at a speed which would, on occasion at any rate, be above the legal limit tor ordinary traffic and therefore unsafe without the operation of a warning device of sufficient power and range to warn all vehicles ou the route travelled. This position was recognized by the Motor Vehicle regulations, which exempted fire engines from the speed limit while going to a tire. Requirements of Regulations. Regulation 5 of' the Motor Vehicle Regulations, 1924, made it compulsory for lire engines to be fitted with a siren and for this siren to be sounded continuously while going to a fire. In the consolidation of the regulations made in 1936. the provisions concerning the use of sirens by traffic officers and tire brigades were induced under one heading in clause 9, which also required all motor vehicles to stop or make way when a vehicle was passing with siren operating. It would be clear that the right-of-way thus given would uot be effective if the siren were not sounded continuously or practically so.

Fire engine sirens must be sufficiently loud to act as a “stop” warning to vehicles being overtaken, continued the report, and must also warn traffic from

side streets which would normally have the right-of-way under the right-hand rule. 11 was also a fact that the sound of a siren was gradually damped down by the high buildings in the city, particularly in the principal business area, where the traffic was most dense and an adequate warning most necessary. Concerning the complaints of excessive noise by fire-engine sirens, particularly at night, Mr. Woolley attached a schedule to his report showing the number of calls received by the brigade at all stations between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. for. the dix months ended January 31, 1939. Between 11 p.m and 6 a.m. when most citizens were asleep, the number of calls was fewer than two a week in the whole of the Fire Board’s area. The response to calls in suburban districts would be heard over only a limited area. His schedule excluded calls to tires in grass, gorse, etc., or where the call was known not to be urgent. Superintendent’s Contentions. For the reasons set out, Superintendent Woolley contended: (1) That both by legal requirement and to maintain the right-of-way it was essential for the siren to be sounded continuously while a fire engine was responding to an alarm of fire; and (2) that the sirens in use in Wellington were not louder or more penetrating in tone than was essential for the conditions existing.

“It must be recognized,” concluded the superintendent, “that life as well as property may be at risk in any lire to which the brigade is called. ’The suggestions that the siren should be sounded only at intersections or where necessary or at the discretion of the officer in charge of the machine are therefore impracticable. In all calls of unknown origin the brigade officer has no means of gauging the urgency of the call and has. therefore, to treat all calls as urgent, unless he has definite information to the contrary. Where the fire is known to be a chimney fire, or to grass or gorse, or of a similar minor character, definite orders are in force that the siren is not to be sounded.”

Mr. W. J. Gaudin said there were other noises besides the brigade’s sirens to which exception might be taken —factory whistles, and building noises—but it was difficult to do without them.

Mr. L. A. Edwards said that the brigade's sirens could scarcely be classed as an offensive sound; rather were they a necessary warning. A copy of the report is to be forwarded to the Town Clerk.