According to a majority panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, a group of Pittsburgh firefighters did not prove that a different design for a fire truck siren they say permanently damaged their hearing would have been safer.

Plaintiffs Maher and Roell serve on the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, and are among 247 firefighters who claimed the siren was defectively-designed and caused them to suffer permanent hearing loss.

The used truck replaces a 1990 GMC that was “too small, has a standard transmission and hydraulic brakes,” the chief said.

This is an automatic, is much larger and will save time because firefighters will have just about everything they need when it arrives at crashes, water rescues, and high-angle and confined-space incidents. At fires it will be a support vehicle.

 

On the West Coast in Santee, firefighters learned about Spencer’s acquisition through social media, and some folks there mentioned how much they miss the vehicle.

The vehicle has been a work in progress for nearly three years and costs about $500,000.

The department was able to combine two of their old vehicles into a single one, which they say will end up saving them money in the long run.