An Oakmont emergency siren continues to cause headaches for residents in the upper part of the borough.
Ann Morrison lives along Hulton Road near Tenth Street Elementary, where one of three borough sirens go off for emergency calls.
She told council at its Nov. 2 workshop meeting the siren causes stress for her and her children, one of which has sensory issues.
The siren wails about 220 times a year at a volume of at least 109 decibels, according to a report from the fire department earlier this year.
Morrison said the volume equates to that of a blaring car horn and close to a rock concert. She is concerned about noise-induced hearing loss.
Sounds above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss, according to multiple studies.
Side effects of noise-induced hearing loss include stress, anxiety, speech and language issues, sensory processing issues and sleep problems.
The siren along Ann Street and the one by the fire station along Fifth Street are both around 95 decibels or less, and so far no one has raised concerns about them at council meetings this year.
Morrison suggested finding ways to lower the decibels of the Tenth Street siren, move it to a different location, limit its duration and possibly silence it between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
She was one of several residents who spoke at the council workshop meeting about the siren.
Resident Jamie Leonardi said one of her children also suffers from sensory issues and the siren causes her daughter to panic. The mother said the siren also can be heard by her colleagues during online business meetings, and it has caused her family stress.
Resident Jon Altman said he and his family moved to the borough in 2016, and have considered relocating because of the siren.
“When you pay a lot of money for a nice house, you kind of don’t want that going off as much as it does,” said Altman.
Altman praised Oakmont’s emergency responders, and said he recently spoke with fire Chief Dave Carroll about the siren.
No one from the fire department spoke at the meeting.
Carroll said at previous council sessions the sirens were necessary to alert people of an emergency. He also noted firefighters get text alerts from Allegheny County as well as other notifications of emergencies on smartphones and pagers.
It costs about $10,000 to $12,000 per siren to replace them, and that’s not in the department’s budget.
Altman said he was willing to help fundraise for a new siren with a lower volume.
“The way it’s been done forever is not a good answer,” he said.
Resident Jill Weeks brought up the siren issue in August.
Weeks showed council at the time a video with children holding their ears as sirens blared.
The clips also included references to articles about noise exposure and its impact on people.
She said at the Nov. 2 meeting that there were other residents with the same concerns who have not been able to make it to council meetings.
Council members told meeting attendees that their voices were heard, and they would like to have more discussions with the fire department before taking any action.
“We’re going to have to work together on this,” Councilwoman Carrie DelRosso said. “I think we’re all going to have to meet halfway.”
Council Vice President Leah Powers said she attempted to have a meeting with Carroll about the sirens, but was unsuccessful.
“I think it’s reasonable for the fire department to come to a compromise,” Powers said.
The fire chief, speaking with the Tribune-Review on Nov. 3, said the department has looked into upgrading its alert system but not to expect the sirens to stop any time soon.
“We have been investigating many new ways of alerting the public when there is an imminent danger to the public, as well as continuing to notify firefighters of emergencies,” said Carroll. “The systems we have in place are presently used for that.”
Carroll likened the Tenth Street siren volume to that of a leaf blower. He also called the presentations and data about the sirens delivered by residents at recent meetings “misleading and malicious.”
“The fire department has never, and will never, utilize any alert system that would cause damage to the residents, especially our children,” Carroll said. “We are presently investigating solutions to continually improve all aspects of our alert system and have been (doing so).”
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