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06-08-2011, 11:01 AM
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Graton siren survives, but with limits
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110607/ARTICLES/110609517/1350?p=all&tc=pgall
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=SR&Date=20110607&Category=ARTICLES&ArtNo=110609517&Ref=AR&Profile=1350&MaxW=445&border=0 (https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110607/ARTICLES/110609517/1350?p=all&tc=pgall)
The siren at the Graton Volunteer Fire department has been alerting firefighters to emergencies for six decades
CHRISTOPHER CHUNG / The Press Democrat
By BOB NORBERG ([email protected])
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 8:34 p.m.
The World War II air raid siren that has called out Graton fire volunteers for six decades can continue its call, but with new restrictions that will all but silence it at night.
“I think it is a good compromise, but it has been a challenge,” said Efren Carrillo, Sonoma County Board of Supervisors chairman, after an emotional two-hour public hearing Tuesday.
“I do see this as a neighborhood issue, but there is a public safety issue: how we respond to emergencies in a rural area,” said Carrillo, whose district includes Graton.
Supervisors voted 5-0 to allow the Graton Volunteer Fire Department to take the siren with it when it moves into its new $4 million station in mid July, agreeing that pagers and cell phones were too unreliable in the hilly West County terrain.
However, from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. the siren can be used only in dire emergencies, such as a structure fire or vehicle crash in which someone needs to be extricated. Those kinds of calls come in only once a month, said Deputy Chief Bill Bullard.
“We can live with that,” Bullard said after the meeting.
The siren, which emits four blasts that last a total of 40 seconds, has been a point of contention for the past two years, ever since the department began the process of getting a new station.
The hearing drew a crowd that packed the supervisors chambers, with 30 speakers offering sometimes emotional testimony.
Critics complained that it is noisy, annoying and unnecessary, that pagers, cell phones and new technology make it obsolete and Graton is hanging on to it out of pride and tradition.
“Most fire stations in the country have moved on,” said Troy Winslow of Graton. “Why hasn't this one? It's time for them to move forward.”
Brian Jacobs of Graton complained the fire department turned the issue into a popularity contest, collecting signatures of supporters, ignoring the primary issue of technology. “The siren is not necessary, pagers work,” Jacobs said.
But a dozen Graton volunteer firefighters told supervisors that they personally have experienced a large number of missed cell phone calls and pagers not working. “I personally experienced a pager failure. It was to a severe call and it was important I got there on time,” said volunteer Dusty Parker.
Residents also said that the sound of the siren was comforting to those in distress.
“When you call 911 and hear the siren, you know that call for help has been answered,” said Lesa Tanner of Graton. “When you are waiting for help, the sound of the siren is calming.”
Graton siren survives, but with limits
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110607/ARTICLES/110609517/1350?p=all&tc=pgall
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=SR&Date=20110607&Category=ARTICLES&ArtNo=110609517&Ref=AR&Profile=1350&MaxW=445&border=0 (https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110607/ARTICLES/110609517/1350?p=all&tc=pgall)
The siren at the Graton Volunteer Fire department has been alerting firefighters to emergencies for six decades
CHRISTOPHER CHUNG / The Press Democrat
By BOB NORBERG ([email protected])
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 8:34 p.m.
The World War II air raid siren that has called out Graton fire volunteers for six decades can continue its call, but with new restrictions that will all but silence it at night.
“I think it is a good compromise, but it has been a challenge,” said Efren Carrillo, Sonoma County Board of Supervisors chairman, after an emotional two-hour public hearing Tuesday.
“I do see this as a neighborhood issue, but there is a public safety issue: how we respond to emergencies in a rural area,” said Carrillo, whose district includes Graton.
Supervisors voted 5-0 to allow the Graton Volunteer Fire Department to take the siren with it when it moves into its new $4 million station in mid July, agreeing that pagers and cell phones were too unreliable in the hilly West County terrain.
However, from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. the siren can be used only in dire emergencies, such as a structure fire or vehicle crash in which someone needs to be extricated. Those kinds of calls come in only once a month, said Deputy Chief Bill Bullard.
“We can live with that,” Bullard said after the meeting.
The siren, which emits four blasts that last a total of 40 seconds, has been a point of contention for the past two years, ever since the department began the process of getting a new station.
The hearing drew a crowd that packed the supervisors chambers, with 30 speakers offering sometimes emotional testimony.
Critics complained that it is noisy, annoying and unnecessary, that pagers, cell phones and new technology make it obsolete and Graton is hanging on to it out of pride and tradition.
“Most fire stations in the country have moved on,” said Troy Winslow of Graton. “Why hasn't this one? It's time for them to move forward.”
Brian Jacobs of Graton complained the fire department turned the issue into a popularity contest, collecting signatures of supporters, ignoring the primary issue of technology. “The siren is not necessary, pagers work,” Jacobs said.
But a dozen Graton volunteer firefighters told supervisors that they personally have experienced a large number of missed cell phone calls and pagers not working. “I personally experienced a pager failure. It was to a severe call and it was important I got there on time,” said volunteer Dusty Parker.
Residents also said that the sound of the siren was comforting to those in distress.
“When you call 911 and hear the siren, you know that call for help has been answered,” said Lesa Tanner of Graton. “When you are waiting for help, the sound of the siren is calming.”