Last month, the Park County Fire Protection District No. 1 Board of Directors voted to silence the sirens nightly from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
However, one fly in the clamorous ointment necessitated adjustments to the plan at the directors’ monthly meeting April 5.
“It’s not a matter of flipping the switch,” said Monte McClain, Park County communications supervisor.
Park County Sheriff’s Office dispatch pages the Powell Volunteer Fire Department to fires, car wrecks and other emergencies. Pagers packed by firefighters notify them of the type of incident and its location, more or less simultaneously with the siren sounding mostly to notify motorists and pedestrians to be on the look out for fire trucks.
Dispatchers can be instructed to not activate the siren, but must remember not to, McClain said. And, if the siren doesn’t sound for months, and the dispatcher accidentally triggers the alarm, the Sheriff’s Office will receive numerous complaints.
The only infallible solution is to install a timer on the two working sirens in Powell. Pete DeHaan of Pete DeHaan Electronics in Powell said he could install timers. The cost would be $5 for each timer and 15 minutes of labor per siren, McClain said.