Fire Truck Noise - 7000 sirens a year!

[frogboy4]

First off I must report having great respect for emergency services that risk their lives to keep us safe. I fully support the fire departments and the men and women who have chosen this heroic occupation. We have seen their great works in Manhattan, New Orleans and many other areas that are hit with catastrophes only they are equipped to help.

[rant:]
I live on a particularly busy street in San Francisco where we get all sorts of noises and have learned to deal with them so much that I hardly notice most of them anymore. I have lived here for over a decade and lived on another busy San Francisco street for a couple years before moving here. We get homeless schizophrenics ranting at all hours, traffic noises, car alarms and all types of urban noise – including fire sirens. I love the rent control on my apartment and many things about this area, but the sirens are killing me and I just discovered that I am not alone.

Here’s an article from earlier this year that cites our poorer neighborhood’s attempts at finding a solution. There are fire houses in more affluent areas that have managed better noise control than ours so there appears to be some other issue in play. The SFFD is aware of the problem, but has vocally laughed it off.

Doing the math cited in the article we get an average of 20 full-on fire truck alarms per day! San Francisco is only a 7 mile area and this is just one of a dozen stations. Honestly, if even half of these were actual emergencies it would require the President calling for a State of Emergency. The truth is, anytime someone so much as stubs a toe and calls 911 at least one fire truck is called along with an ambulance. There was a policy change to link the two services together in the past few years.

It is simple to misunderstand and believe citizens should shut up or move. I expect much noise in an urban area and actually enjoy the sounds like a city soundtrack. It’s not the noise people mind as much as the totallack of discretion of frequency. The noise also bounces off the buildings amplifying the shrill sound ten fold. Unless you live in it there’s no adequate explanation except for spontaneously blowing an air horn in their ear for a couple minutes 20 times a day.

The noise adversely affects children, pets and the general mood of people that aren’t rich and can’t just pick up and move somewhere else. If someone is truly dying or there is a structure on fire then I say blast that siren away! But there’s a growing complacency that has occurred in the tenderloin area that smacks more of fire trucks crying wolf. I fear some locals don’t have adequate reverence for these vehicles when there’s a real emergency.

This is more of a rant to get out a little bit of building angst. I usually keep it in check, but once in a while…man! The fire department’s noise pollution rattling through my home has caused more than one prickly post from this frogboy. I just hope something gets done about it. Limiting the use of the siren for dire emergencies and lowering the decibel level of the building-amplified sirens would help. Saving lives is important. Quality of life is too. I think the FD and civilians could be better served in this age of technology.

Does anyone have such an issue?

I must state again that I have the highest respect for firefighters!

[/rant]

(As I have been writing this there have been 3 fire trucks and two ambulances)

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Wow! There past by while you were righting this? That's crazy! I know on the street I live on i get a whole lot of ambulance trucks and I know because I can here them. But that makes sense I guess.