"We don't want no firehouse in our neighborhood...."

[3930dave]

You make an excellent point, one I didn't think of. One of the issues that puzzles me about the condo dwellers is that odds are, NONE of them are going to be much aware of the firehouse UNLESS they are subjected to the siren noise. Condo and apartment dwellers almost never do anything outside their abodes, they don't have yard care, landscaping, snow removal, etc. They cannot wash their cars in the driveways, don't have to maintain the property in any way, etc. I am VERY sure that an arrangement can be made between the authorities and the condo dwellers that the sirens on the equipment will not be used until the trucks are on the main street. So...what is their complaint?

I've observed that the closer you pack people together, the less they want to have anything to do with each other. I can understand, and relate to that, to a certain extent. That reality is part of why many of us choose to live rural.

Condo living, with it's physically insular/isolated lifestyle tends to reinforce that thinking. Fire doesn't respect those perceived boundaries though - modern building code, correctly implemented, will limit fire spread much more so than in old high density construction - but you are still going to get plenty of collateral damage from even a small fire in high density construction.

I know from a contractor friend who has seen the aftermath of just a major water pipe breaking in a high rise (no fire). Major $'s involved.

Came across an interesting book that talks about the issue of modern, supposedly educated people that live in high density cities, and some of the really basic things they have lost for knowledge. Or, as a good friend of mine puts it "They are so smart, they're stupid".

As with the jail example above, it doesn't take much of an additional delay, to create a much bigger hazard. Insurance companies know this, and price accordingly.

Rgds, D.

 

[ruffdog]

I have worked across the street from a fire station and the noise can be quite loud. I was a mechanic and with the doors open in warm weather, the trucks sirens would point right at us when they would leave. MUCH different than living 4 blocks from the station.

 

[/pine]

IMO the sirens and horns on firetrucks are way too loud...I have read several times where lawsuits have been filed against municipalities/ fire departments over this issue...

...in many places when FD's are called to assist in fender benders (where there is no reports of injuries)...the FD responders go way over the top blasting their horns and sirens, blocking traffic lanes and really do nothing but add to the problem...

 

[RobertBrown]

They should tell the residents that the property was slated for the development of the Okemos Juvenile Detention Center (county owned). "We felt that the fire station would be more....appropriate".....But.....if noise is an issue.......

 

[brin]

PLEASE! Put the firehouse next door to me. My fire insurance would definitely go down.

Same here...I agree...our homeowners grades insurance based on a scale of 1 to 10...10 being the most expensive and more than 5 miles from a fire station --we just make it within the 5 miles but a friend of ours just a half a mile away pays far more for homeowners than we do...just because of the distance from the fire station...

 

[JDgreen227]

Same here...I agree...our homeowners grades insurance based on a scale of 1 to 10...10 being the most expensive and more than 5 miles from a fire station --we just make it within the 5 miles but a friend of ours just a half a mile away pays far more for homeowners than we do...just because of the distance from the fire station...

Brin...I am in protection Class 6 thru AAA, distance from my local fire station is just under 3 miles. I was talking to the fire chief of the township a few years back and he told me he wished he could get more funding for staff. The station is very modern, as is the equipment, but they are mostly staffed by volunteers and that creates long response times. A few years back there was an arson fire about 2 miles down the road from me, one of my neighbors is a cop and we scrambled down to the site within 5 minutes of the report, but it was over a half hour longer before my township FD could get the first truck to the site.

 

[MogginMike]

IMO the sirens and horns on firetrucks are way too loud...I have read several times where lawsuits have been filed against municipalities/ fire departments over this issue...

And I've had more times than I can count drivers failing to yield or otherwise be oblivious to us being behind them, regardless of the number of flashy lights and sirens. Please don't try to take them away, when I use them its really when I need them...

...in many places when FD's are called to assist in fender benders (where there is no reports of injuries)...the FD responders go way over the top blasting their horns and sirens, blocking traffic lanes and really do nothing but add to the problem...

Yes, sometimes that can be true. Sometimes its due to policy makers above the people you actually see, so just keep that in mind before you blame the peons....

-mike

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Brin...I am in protection Class 6 thru AAA, distance from my local fire station is just under 3 miles. I was talking to the fire chief of the township a few years back and he told me he wished he could get more funding for staff. The station is very modern, as is the equipment, but they are mostly staffed by volunteers and that creates long response times. A few years back there was an arson fire about 2 miles down the road from me, one of my neighbors is a cop and we scrambled down to the site within 5 minutes of the report, but it was over a half hour longer before my township FD could get the first truck to the site.

When I was in college, we lived about half a block from the Dairy Queen, which was next door to the Fire Station. Not long after I got out of school, the Dairy Queen caught fire and burned to the ground. We all wondered what the story was, but we never heard. So much for living near a fire station...

 

[JDgreen227]

When I was in college, we lived about half a block from the Dairy Queen, which was next door to the Fire Station. Not long after I got out of school, the Dairy Queen caught fire and burned to the ground. We all wondered what the story was, but we never heard. So much for living near a fire station...

Maybe the firefighters of that station had a grudge against the college students who hung around the Dairy Queen....sorry, could not resist that one....

 

[brin]

Brin...I am in protection Class 6 thru AAA, distance from my local fire station is just under 3 miles. I was talking to the fire chief of the township a few years back and he told me he wished he could get more funding for staff. The station is very modern, as is the equipment, but they are mostly staffed by volunteers and that creates long response times. A few years back there was an arson fire about 2 miles down the road from me, one of my neighbors is a cop and we scrambled down to the site within 5 minutes of the report, but it was over a half hour longer before my township FD could get the first truck to the site.

JD - Same thing is true here..we have a volunteer FD but it is not staffed so if you are lucky someone shows up in 20 min. if not so lucky ...well some time after 20 min. Most houses burn down here...most are not saved...just the way it is...I think the volunteer FDs are just a feel good thing..not really functional as far as saving life or property....:2cents: