Joe, in regards to Pittsville... really dumb question... and I hope by all means you could possibly post this on your main page. I've grown up in Pittsville and now I own my own house and I have a small family with a 1 year old. I live "in town" Pittsville. My point... THE FIRE WHISTLE! I fail to see a use for it. It blows for 3-4 minutes and I guess recently Pittsville FD hasn't been responding in a timely fashion so they blow it again for another 3-4 minutes. This happened TWICE last night! 16 minutes of nothing but fire whistle noise, I thought America was under some massive attack. My 1 year old son refuses to go to sleep afterwards because it's so loud. In the world of pagers and cell phones is there still a need to wake up firemen at 3am via a fire whistle that blows for 3 - 4 minutes? I've heard people complain about it over and over again. Many people say they have complained in person and they REFUSE to change it so they REFUSED to donate any money to the fire department until the whistle is deactivated during sleeping hours.
i used to live in the town of pittsville and i appreciated the whistle as it was an indication to me to be careful: firefighters were going to be flying down the road very soon from all directions. perhaps you could look at it that way instead of as a negative.
ReplyDeleteif you grew up in pittsville, then you knew there was a whistle (and how loud it was). if it upsets you that much, why on earth did you purchase a house there?
I'm seriously trying to wrap my mind around your complaint, but can't seem to grasp the kernel of it.
ReplyDeleteYou're complaining because a fire whistle/siren, the purpose of which is to alert firefighters in the area to an emergency, possibly life threatening, is waking your child?????
If your house was on fire or you were in a serious accident, would you want a beeper to alert help? Wouldn't a text message be even quieter???
I'm pretty sure the whistle blow many years before you had a child. Don't complain now!
ReplyDeleteYes, that is like moving next door to a chicken farm and complaining about the smell.
ReplyDeleteStation 2 in Salisbury reduced the siren to a one time blast, I appreciated them doing this and it has not seemed to affect the volunteers from being notified, they still zoom by after it has sounded off.
ReplyDeleteWhy can this not be done elsewhere?
I can tell you the volunteers have to pay for their pagers and not all can afford the $500 for them, and for the past 2 days the test messaging system has been down. Both calls you are referring too was an alarm for the school. So, yeah we still need the siren. Because technology isn't all its cracked up to be.
ReplyDeleteI agree! NO need for it to blast for 4 minutes! NONE!
ReplyDeleteWell I have read a lot of posts on the blog, and have wanted to comment on a few, but this one I couldn't let slip by. In regards to the fire siren........I totally agree with 11:04. IF it was YOUR families house on fire, or YOUR family in an accident, you wouldn't even notice the fire siren ringing! First of all, believe it or not, not everyone has a cell phone, secondly, the fire departments that I know of do not pay for their members to have a pager. They have to buy one with their own money, and no they are not cheap. And for someone NOT to donate to the fire department until they take care of the siren?!?!? Are you serious???? Again, like others have said, if you grew up there you knew about the siren. I get tired of hearing everything bad about the VOLUNTEER fire departments in the area. Key word here being VOLUNTEER. Those VOLUNTEERS have saved a lot of lives! Again, the if the shoe were on the other foot you would think differently......guaranteed. And I'm not even from the Pittsville area. Just get tired of it!
ReplyDeleteJoe. This person hit it on the head. Blow the whistle once. End of story. The whistle serves no purpose other than to be annoying.
ReplyDeleteThe whistle is as worthless as the Pittsville FD. They got real erred on both calls. Shows how concerned they were about the school. Save your hog wash.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to buy a cute little house in pittsville several years ago but it was near the fire house so I did not purchase it. I didn't want to be woken by the siren. I would have never purchased it then expected the fire house to not use their siren because I didn't like it. It's there for safety and it's egotistical of you to expect they change it. It's not like you already lived there and then they put the siren up.
ReplyDeleteI love the fire whistle. My black lab sings the blues every time it goes off. And sometimes I join in and help him.
ReplyDeleteDelmar, DE siren blast is worst. I'm glad I live in the country. Far away from the blast and the sounds of the cars racing on the tracks. I hope in the future, I would not have to live near a firehouse.
ReplyDeleteSave the firefighting for business hours please. I need my beauty rest, and this fire is cozy....wait!
ReplyDeleteDJ
Sorry the firehouse and whistle were here before you were. Half the time it doesn't work anyway. What people should be more concerned with is the dealings that go on with the fire department. You put unqualified people in a position and things don't get taken care of.
ReplyDeleteMost can't respond at night because they drank to much. Some refuse to respond because of how they are treated. There is a serious "good ole boys" network in the fire department and if you try to speak your mind you are black listed.
There is also to much waste. Tell me why they needed a SUV chase vehicle? Oh yeah that's right the car they had was not good enough to run back and forth to Parsonsburg in case there was snow. GIVE ME A BREAK!
Anon 11:38:
ReplyDeleteI don't know where you are from or where you get your info, but pagers are supplied to the firefighters. They are not purchased by them. Secondly, the whistles are a very old system that really is not necessary anymore. In fact, if a whistle is set off, 99% of the time one of the line officers asks central to discontinue it. There is no need to constantly run a siren that was created in the old west days.
not true Pittsville does not provide pagers for their members the members have to buy them. Also the whistle is also to alert drivers that fire apparatus is responding remember the fire dept is on a curve and cars heading south can't see the fire dept until they are on top of it.
ReplyDeletesounds pretty selfish to me. If it were your house on fire, wouldn't you wan that whistle to blow...Get over it already!!
ReplyDeletethey needed a new chase vehicle big enough for monster head powells head to fit in.
ReplyDeleteThe whistle has NO purpose. Get rid of it! I also heard it blow for almost 16 minutes in the dead of night. If Pittsville fire dept was able to fully staff their trucks they wouldn't have to get realerted.
ReplyDeleteFire whistles are not needed at all. To warn drivers? If you have qualified drivers in your fire department then they will know how to effectively and adaquetly operate an emergency vehicle. Is not like bumper cars. And last time I checked those red flashing lights and sirens were design to warn drivers. Idiots.
ReplyDeleteI for one am one person who does not donate money to the fire department in pittsville due to their whistle. I've voiced my dismay.
ReplyDelete1) Put a flashing light sign at either end of the road 100 yards from the farhaoue.
ReplyDelete2) fix the pager system and make it the central system. When there is a fire or ambulance siren, do the responders ask the siren what address to go to? I think not. You guys must have a secret radio system for that.
3)Pagers..Hmmm, I remember them from 1990. I hope you guys are talking a paging walkie talkie on the 911 system instead of one on your belt that we had to see and drive to a pay phone to call back! If you still have these, you didn't need a new farhouse!
4 Didn't the new firehouse come equipped with communications, phone, alarm systems! The builder says it did. Maybe you need someone to come over there and show you where the "on" switch is.
i paid for my pager.and when i lost in pullind idiots out of the snow storm two years ago i bought another. we struggle for money.and tbh i dont always have my pager on or a phone near by i.e. while swimming or hunting etc etc.,so i rely on that siren to save peoples butts. and you know what folks.....keep calling for oh i feel sick i need an ambulance or i got a bad headache in the middle of the night and drive yourselves.that would eliminate most of the siren use.and how bout this....in the middle of the night im gonna blast the ambulance siren and or the engines siren and air horn as much as i can....if i can get up for the community at night then yalls can to.un grateful cusses pittsville firefighter
ReplyDeleteHey 7:56PM. You can still take your pager with you moron. Swimming? Come on. You can hear your pager beep while your in the water. If your swimming, enjoy your time off and don't bother responding. Hunting? Your pager does have a vibrate mode. If it has been programmed properly or duh, you know how to use it. Sirens are a thing of the past for the most part. With technology today,there really is no need for them.
ReplyDeleteYou talk about warning drivers that there is a fire and firefighters are responding. The public needs to watch out for the idiot drivers responding. I should know, I had one pass me on a residential street doing 60+ in a 25 with my kids in the car. SLOW DOWN!!! Do you realize YOU are responsible if you cause a wreck responding. Don't give me the "saving your butt" hogwash either. I know the law and I know NFPA rules and regulations that state basically, volunteer firefighters responding in personal vehicles MUST obey all traffic laws while responding. 60 in a 25 on a residential street is WAY in excess.
My personal opinion, and in defense of my fellow firefighters, ALL volunteer firefighters should be allowed to run a red light in their POVs. Not just the officers.
This is such a sad post. We are arguing over a fire whistle and if it is necessary. I have lived close to the fire station in Willards and across the street from Salisbury's station on Schumaker Drive. It grew on me. If you are not going to donate because of the whistle, you were not going to donate anyways. You bought the house knowing the fire station was where it is and you chose to move there. Will you be upset next because they turn the sirens on when pulling out of the station? It amazes me to see people move where they do and expect the lifestyle of what they moved into to change to suit them. And to end this, we have an economy, gas prices, crime, and much more important things to worry about and you are complaining about a whistle?
ReplyDeleteit is not only the fire dept but the whole dog gone town is crazy
ReplyDeletei heard something the other day at shore stop that the town has taken over the lions club building and is maintaining it using my tax dollars for the AA meetings---things that make you go hummmm?
then i find out that one of the moores is tres of lions club--is this the same crazy moore at town hall that has his daughter working there? and hired that crazy lady who has quit two or three times back there? again things that make you go hummmm.....
9:21
ReplyDeleteThat "crazy lady" as you call her, is the ONLY one down there that seems to know what is going on. I would be nuts to working with Denver. I can't get an answer from anyone down there when I call. They take your name and number and never call you back. If I have a problem I have to go into the office and get it taken care of. The town has been like this for years. Denver can't keep his own finances in order it seems. Who knows what he's doing with the books of the town.
I guess the trains should also stop sounding their whistles too when they are coming up on a crossing.
ReplyDeleteWhy do people always complain because of their lack of judgement? You knew the whistle was there so why buy a house then complain about it? I live within a mile of the fire house and usually never hear the whistle. Maybe I have gotten used to it. Usually if I get woken up it's because of the sirens from the ambulance or the trucks. Should they also turn those off?
To the commentor that said put up flashing lights. They would need at least 6 lights because of the way the the fire house sits close to so many roads.
Leave things alone. Stop trying to change things that were there long before you moved to town.
5:59
ReplyDeleteSeems you are the idiot. It's also to alert drives on the road that there will be emergency vehicles on the road. Reread what the other person said again.
How many other fire departments still use their whistles? I know Pittsville does and I know Parsonsburg does also. What about other towns? Does Willards, Powevelle, Hebron, Fruitland, Salisbury and any others still use their whistles?
ReplyDeleteI know for a fact that Powellville and Willards still use theirs. I have mixed emotions about this post. On one hand if it was me, my friends or family members having an emergency, I would want them to be there asap. On the other hand 16 minutes seems like an excessive amount of time to have an alarm sound. There has to be a compromise somewhere that would make sense during middle of the night.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it was not 16 minutes of constant sounding of the whistle. Usually they sound the whistle and if they don't get a response it is sounded again. If there is another call then it is sounded. It did not go off for 16 minutes all at once.
ReplyDeleteComplaining about something that was there when you bought the house is like me going into Chuck E Cheese and complaining about crying kids.
maybe a new post is needed about pittsville and its finances and what moore is doing up there all the time with his daughter working there too
ReplyDeletei certainly hope we arent paying for the lions club building--if we are whats next the church, etc.
if so pay to get some of the messy houses fixed up too
where is the code person, look at all the tall grass, etc.
shoot there is a whole house hidden next to the back entrance of the school surrounded by bamboo, etc. what a heck of a mess
Did they just put the fire whistle there after you moved? Or did you move knowing it's there? When it's your house, you'll be glad "she's" there.
ReplyDelete