The fire siren flap in Lake Cowichan may be over.
Nearly.
Town council voted April 10 that “until a new timer can be implemented [on the siren] the current system of fire siren notification should remain in place. However, serious consideration should be given to eliminating the use of the siren between the hours of 10 p.m. each night and ending at 7 a.m. the next morning by allocating budget dollars for that purpose. Additionally the siren should only be used to sound for shorter durations.”
Town resident Michele March, who had originally asked that council reconsider using the siren at night because it could be intrusive, or even frightening, and would interrupt sleep, was at the meeting April 10, and after looking at the recommendation, she said, “That’s great.”
Town CAO Joe Fernandez had prepared a backgrounder for councillors on the fire siren, saying “the past and current fire chiefs have, at various times, wrestled with others over the topic of the continued use of the fire siren. Generally, the consensus has been to maintain the use of it and its elimination has met with resistance. Other municipalities have had similar experiences.”
He also investigated why Lake Cowichan needs a fire siren.
It’s needed to notify firefighters and the public of the urgency of a public emergency, which means that citizens are notified wittingly or unwittingly of a fire or other emergency in the community and are encouraged to comply with the needs of the emergency crew and equipment.
The fire siren should be a way of warning residents to turn off their sprinkling systems so there is sufficient water for firefighting purposes, he said.
Drivers and pedestrians hear it, too, including school children, and can follow their training to stay off roads when the fire siren sounds.
Volunteers and firefighting equipment may make it quicker to the fire hall and emergency situations if the public can stay off the streets, and the siren is intended to accomplish that and access to the fire hall itself should be kept clear when the fire siren sounds.
“The fire chief sees the need for continued maintenance of the fire siren,” Fernandez said. “Given that each of the foregoing requirements become more critical between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. each day, the fire chief is receptive to the idea of having the fire siren rewired to limit its use to just between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. each day.
“The rewiring of the siren can be accomplished when the municipal hall is renovated. However, the fire chief is willing to accept a reduction in the hours of operation of the siren on a trial basis, before it becomes permanently implemented,” the CAO said.