Graton Siren = Community

[Hollynn]

https://img59.imageshack.us/img59/483/gratonsiren.jpgThe Graton Fire Protection District siren use will be discussed at the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors' hearing Tuesday, June 7th at 2:10 p.m. I will be attending the hearing to support the use of the siren.

As a member of the GFPD Citizen's Advisory Committee, I have participated in research for alternatives to the siren since last September. From what I have learned, I believe there is no alternative that provides as reliable a signal for the volunteers as the siren. However, that is not the only reason I support the siren.

Those who support the use of the siren, even for the unnecessary one-cycle noon whistle, have a different association for the siren than do those who are opposed to it. Both viewpoints are understandable. Those who oppose the siren see it as nuisance and even a health hazard. Indeed it can have a stressful association, harkening back to World War II. <!--?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /--><o:p></o:p>
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However, I think that those who support the siren associate it with community. The siren is a symbol of the Graton tradition of people coming together to help each other.

Putting up with the sound of the siren is like changing your plans for the day because a friend needs transportation to the doctor. It's like pitching in to help a neighbor family clear a tree that's fallen on their roof.

I like to imagine how the volunteers respond when they hear the siren, dropping whatever they are doing and running for their cars, maybe shoving in one last bite of toast as they reach for their car keys. I imagine the person needing help hearing the siren and realizing that help is on its way.

Hearing the siren makes me feel connected to my community. It's four cycles mean: We care, we care, we care, we care.
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The siren is part and parcel of this wonderful community - the Graton Community Projects which puts on Graton Day, the Graton Day Labor Center which shelters and protects the day laborers, the Graton Community Club which raises money for scholarships for local high school students, the Graton Community Garden, the Graton Green Group which is trying to create a community park in Graton, and the list goes on.

Graton isn't just a town; it's a community of people looking out for each other. That's why I support the siren.

HolLynn D'Lil
Graton resident, living within four blocks of the siren

[Barry]

https://www.sonomawest.com/art/logo-sonomawest.png
Graton Fire siren goes before Supes
https://www.sonomawest.com/articles/2011/06/01/sonoma_west_times_and_news/news/doc4de6b4164c5ca907704258.txt

June 7 meeting may not end controversy

by David Abbott
Sonoma West Editor

Published: Wednesday, June 1, 2011 3:56 PM PDT
GRATON — The Graton Fire Protection District plans to move into its new $4 million facility on Highway 116 and Green Valley Road next month, so on Tuesday the Board of Supervisors will decide if the WWII era siren that has called Graton volunteers to emergencies for more than five decades will continue its daily song or be consigned to the dustbin of history.

In order for the siren to move, an acceptable compromise must be made with a group of citizens who are against its continued use.

When the Supervisors approved the new building in April 2009, GFD was directed to form a citizen’s committee to study the siren issue and come up with a compromise.

A group calling themselves Citizens for a Better Community filed an injunction last March to stop GFD from moving the siren to the new location after a year of failed discussions between the district and the citizens group.

The siren is used between 500 and 1,000 times per year — depending on who is asked — for calling firefighters to emergencies and Thursday night training, as well as a daily noon blast that “keeps (Gratonians) from starving,” according to GFD Deputy Chief Bill Bullard.

“We’re doing what the Board of Supervisors asked us to do,” Bullard said. “The important thing is to eliminate the siren at night … Our board has accepted the full recommendations of the group.”

But members of that group say that they want GFD to take a modern technological approach to calling its firefighters and dispense with the siren completely, a recommendation the department hasn’t been able to accommodate.

GFD has been working with the Redwood Empire Dispatch Communications Authority (REDCOM) to find a solution to pager failures Bullard says is the bane of the department and one of the main reasons GFD has to keep the siren.

The department reported 47 pager failures in 2009, and has “contacted an outside expert,” to try to find a solution, according to a report submitted to the County.

Other recommendations from the committee that have been adopted include eliminating use of the siren between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. except in the case of major disaster; structure fire calls; vegetation fire calls, and major traffic collisions.

There will also likely be a “sleeper program” where volunteers are paid $25 to stay at the fire house overnight in order to be more available during times of emergency.

Bullard says he has the support of a large section of the community, citing a mailing the department did last summer indicating overwhelming support for the noon siren, as well as 400 signatures gathered at the recent pancake breakfast that was also submitted to the Supervisors.

He feels as if the issue should be settled in the department’s favor after its board accepted all of the committee’s recommendations.

“The eight people on the citizen’s advisory committee are all for it,” he said. “Four of them are part of the lawsuit. They were well-represented on that committee.”

Robin Winslow is a member of the committee and a lifelong resident of the area.

Winslow, 65, grew up on High School Road and moved to her Graton residence 36 years ago. Her property is just 200 feet from the new building.

“I was born and raised here and have a firm understanding of what people want in the community,” she said.

Winslow found out about the move when the Christmas tree farm sold the land to the fire department.

“I was buying a tree and heard about it,” she said. “I thought: ‘They’re not going to move the siren, are they?’ It was a done deal, and kind of shocking actually.”

After seeing a public notice about the construction of the new building, Winslow became involved in the process.

“We just wanted some input. I wanted to try to achieve some sort of resolution,” she said. “It’s been difficult to raise the conversation above pager failures.”

She said it pains her to be in her present position, but feels as if doing away with the siren is the only solution.

“I think it’s unnecessary. The siren goes off 600 times a year and that exceeds county health standards,” Winslow added. “I think they have an obligation to mitigate.”

Another potential neighbor is the Blue Spruce Mobilhome Lodge across the highway from the new facility.

David Powell is the president of the Blue Spruce Homeowners Association and he believes the siren will have a detrimental affect on the health of the seniors at the park.

“Our park is 1,300 feet from the site. If they move the siren to the new locale, it will bring decibel levels that are harmful to the health of the seniors living here,” he said.

The issue has put Powell, 76, a former firefighter, police officer and Episcopalian priest, in a position that he’s not happy about.

“I love this old WWII siren,” he said. “My memories of it (go back to) Pearl Harbor, but since I heard about it, I’ve been doing research and found that loud noises can add to high blood pressure to seniors.

“It’s part of the heart of Graton, and it breaks my heart to oppose it,” Powell added.

He said that even though the firefighters sacrifice to save lives, they are doing harm with the siren. There are 74 seniors living at the park, according to Powell, and residents in the first row of homes closest to the new fire house are in their 80s.

“We love the fire department,” Powell said. “They’ve had (the siren) for 55 years and to give it up will be heart-wrenching, a psychological wrench for the whole community.”

While members of the community who want an end to what many see as an anachronism, members of the GFD feel as if they’ve done more than enough to deal with detractors.

“They’re saying we haven’t found a technological solution to the issue, but we feel good about it,” Bullard said.

David Abbott can be reached at [email protected].

[wulfworks]

Thanks HolLynn D'Lil
I also live in Graton and whenever I hear the siren I feel gratitude for the selfless volunteer firemen who are dropping everything they are doing to run out and protect someone in our community. The noon siren is a reassuring sign that those firemen are still on duty and ready to jump into action.

To the firemen: Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Bernadette Wulf


https://img59.imageshack.us/img59/483/gratonsiren.jpgThe Graton Fire Protection District siren use will be discussed at the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors' hearing Tuesday, June 7th at 2:10 p.m. I will be attending the hearing to support the use of the siren.

As a member of the GFPD Citizen's Advisory Committee, I have participated in research for alternatives to the siren since last September. From what I have learned, I believe there is no alternative that provides as reliable a signal for the volunteers as the siren. However, that is not the only reason I support the siren.

Those who support the use of the siren, even for the unnecessary one-cycle noon whistle, have a different association for the siren than do those who are opposed to it. Both viewpoints are understandable. Those who oppose the siren see it as nuisance and even a health hazard. Indeed it can have a stressful association, harkening back to World War II. <!--?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /--><o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
However, I think that those who support the siren associate it with community. The siren is a symbol of the Graton tradition of people coming together to help each other.

Putting up with the sound of the siren is like changing your plans for the day because a friend needs transportation to the doctor. It's like pitching in to help a neighbor family clear a tree that's fallen on their roof.

I like to imagine how the volunteers respond when they hear the siren, dropping whatever they are doing and running for their cars, maybe shoving in one last bite of toast as they reach for their car keys. I imagine the person needing help hearing the siren and realizing that help is on its way.

Hearing the siren makes me feel connected to my community. It's four cycles mean: We care, we care, we care, we care.
<o:p></o:p>
The siren is part and parcel of this wonderful community - the Graton Community Projects which puts on Graton Day, the Graton Day Labor Center which shelters and protects the day laborers, the Graton Community Club which raises money for scholarships for local high school students, the Graton Community Garden, the Graton Green Group which is trying to create a community park in Graton, and the list goes on.

Graton isn't just a town; it's a community of people looking out for each other. That's why I support the siren.

HolLynn D'Lil
Graton resident, living within four blocks of the siren