Set against an afternoon sky that wavered between dark gray clouds and intermittent streams of sunlight, several Sloatsburg Volunteer Fire Fighters gathered yesterday along Rt. 17 just north of Dater’s Crossing. Stationed off to the east side of the road, rising above traffic and leaning slightly toward the road, is the telephone pole topped with the fire department’s 12 siren. The day’s task — to finally fix the long silent Sloatsburg fire alarm signal.
“The whole county goes off at 7:01 p.m.,” said Village Trustee and Sloatsburg volunteer fireman Peter Akey, who helped organize the department’s siren-fixing effort. “If you listen to a scanner, you can hear everybody’s tones go off.” Akey said that the test sounds only if all is clear. If there’s a fire somewhere in the county at that time, the test alarm doesn’t go off.
The siren’s regular evening sound used to be a part of village life, going off at precisely the same time most days, signaling that sunset is near and the day done. But nearly two years ago the siren’s motor broke, sticking mid-signal, the alarm ringing out steadily over the village. “It got stuck on,” said Joe Hardiman, an engineer and longtime volunteer firefighter, who took an afternoon off to tend to the siren. “We had to go tearing up there and pull some fuses out. People thought there was an Indian Point emergency.”
In all, Akey, Hardiman, First Assistant Chief Joseph Vega and fire police captain Ken O’Leary took an afternoon to try and finally fix the alarm. Hardiman said that Sloatsburg got motor parts from the Hillcrest Fire Department, which switched over to a solid state alarm signal. The volunteers were able to use a bucket truck from CCI Integraters for the afternoon — CCI is Vega’s alarm installation company.
“When Hillcrest replaced their siren system a few years ago with an all-electronic system, they never removed the old parts,” Hardiman said, regarding the Hillcrest department’s bit of generosity. “They happened to be compatible with our siren, so we asked if we could have them. We’re crossing our fingers.” Hardiman said that the style of motor and signal transmitter Sloatsburg uses isn’t sold anymore.
“We had no idea whether it was serviceable or not,” Hardiman said. “Until I put it on the bench, hooked it up and tried to run it, I couldn’t tell.” A new motor and switch would cost nearly $600, with an entire new alarm system, including alarm siren, running close to $5000.
“Seven or eight years ago, the siren was taken down off the pole and the motor was rebuilt and siren painted,” said Hardiman. “So, the mechanical parts are almost new.”
When working, the fire department siren punctuates the evening hours with three short and one long blast precisely at 7:01 p.m. Since the Sloatsburg siren has been turned off, on clear days, villagers can sometimes hear the Tuxedo siren sound, and, depending on weather conditions, sometimes even the Suffern alarm. Each fire department has a unique signal pattern that can be recognized by local firefighters.
Hardiman worked steadily for nearly three hours on the roadside electrical box, as late afternoon drive-time traffic increased, testing the switching mechanism and tinkering with the siren’s motor. The work was punctuated with periodic loud, chest-rattling blasts from the dozen horns above. Finally, Hardiman was able to overhaul the siren motor and repair the signal transmitter, completing the task with one last test blast of the alarm. With a little luck and preventive maintenance, the Sloatsburg fire siren will again ring out over the village, signaling another day done. Or in some cases, clamor the alarm, alerting village firefighters to gear up and get going in the never-ending cycle of community service.
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