Some Streeterville residents, along with elected leaders, say they think the number of ambulances traveling through the downtown neighborhood is rising, as is the siren volume - and they want the Fire Department to do something about it.
One Fire Department official told the audience that the department's ambulance sirens aren't louder than they used to be and meet federal regulation. Still, the department is sensitive to concerns and has made at least 11 "common-sense" policy changes citywide over the years, such as reducing the frequency of activating sirens, aiming the sirens toward traffic in front of the emergency vehicle and lowering the sirens from the roofs to the vehicle grilles, Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford told the audience.