Found this old postcard/photo of the Cedarburg, Wisconsin fire department headquarters, probably from the late 1960s or early 1970s. There appears to be a siren mounted inside the tower opening at the top of the building.
Cedarburg later had ACA Cyclone 125s installed around town, and one of those locations was only about 0.2 miles away from this station, so I’m guessing the older tower siren eventually became obsolete and was removed. Modern Street View no longer shows anything there besides what looks like an exhaust/vent setup.
I’m curious what people think the siren in the tower may have been. My guess is maybe a Federal Signal Model 5 or possibly a 7/7T based on the apparent size and shape, but I’d love to hear other opinions.
This also reminded me of another siren that disappeared near Hartland, Wisconsin where my aunt lives. There used to be a Federal Signal STL-10 mounted on top of a hill there, and I drove past it several times over the years. Last summer while biking through the area, I stopped to check on it and found the ground around the site had been disturbed and the siren was completely gone. It apparently hadn’t sounded in quite a long time before removal.
Yeah, though many are still around just the same: quite a few fire stations I’ve spotted around the state of North Carolina still have their Model-series sirens (though whether they’re still actually in service I have no clue).
There’s a few I know of, and one that is threatened… Outright removals are rare in my area and generally it’s the sirens that are left inactive or replaced… I don’t have pictures of any that I can find at the moment.
Verneuil-en-Halatte, they had a WWII era Cicca siren (of which I unknowingly immortalized) that got replaced even though it clearly was working… Ironically the new siren started to have issues to the point Verneuil just stopped using it altogether.
Luzarches : Cicca PCT-1481, removed altogether for unknown reasons.
Précy-sur-Oise : they have or had a Cicca R3P siren on the fire station, used to be visible on streetview, nowadays it looks like it disappeared, though when I went one time there, I saw they had put the siren on a mast, although it’s not visible on satellite imagery.
Clermont-de-l’Oise : 1936 Cicca 6 ports siren, the only one left in Oise, it sits on the former Collège Jean Fernel which is undergoing renovations and being converted into a community center. Future of that one is uncertain. Siren is long inactive.
Amiens still has two identical units albeit one 6 ports and one 8 ports, they had a 3rd 8 port unit that got replaced, they also had a Pétrier Tissot Raybaud (PTR) Delta siren on top of the École Saint-Roch replaced by a newer siren. All inactive.
Fère-en-Tardenois : Used to have an Elektror Typ-S5/L1 in the spire of the Saint-Macre church, as of 2024 it was taken down, repainted and put on display, but it’s location is unknown.
Noyon : WWII era pictures show a German siren in the city hall’s belfry (possibly an Elektror S3A or an S5/L1) nowadays sit an unknown siren (probably a PTR Delta SC112) with what looks like to be a coding damper.
Grandvilliers : Formerly had a Constructions Électriques du Nord “Gearbox” siren (as in, CEN made sirens that used a gear multiplier to speed up the rotor to 3750 RPM and on later 10 port units 4400 RPM!) that sounded EVERY day at Noon until it was replaced, citing concerns that the siren was aging (even though it could’ve coexisted with a newer siren used strictly for civil defense purposes). CEN Gearbox sirens are EXTREMELY rare in France and are nearly extinct but seem to be relatively common in Oise and Alsace.
Mitry-Mory : CEN Gearbox, replaced by a newer siren.
Coye-la-Forêt : Moteurs Patay SEM 2 siren, inactive and slowly rotting out.
Doullens : PTR Multidelta (12 port with a Dahlander motor), inactive and left to rot.
Gouvieux : Most likely threatened, seems to activate at random, local newspaper stated they’re resuming testing of it, but to date… Nothing.
Verberie : CEN NP4S siren left near a hotel that used to be the former city hall, left to rot in place.
Saint-Leu-d’Esserent : Used to have a CEN Gearbox on a school, replaced by (surprise!) a PTR Delta siren. Saint-Leu also has a second siren closer to my hometown that is sitting on a metal mast, albeit no word if it’s still active or not…
Champagne-sur-Oise : CEN NP2S siren on top of a small hut in front of Champagne-sur-Oise’s old coal plant. It’s mounted low and odds are it’s abandonned in place.
Looks to be a Federal Electric (Fedelcode) Model 5/7 for sure based off the housing shape
Thankfully my town has no intention of ditching their old FS&S STH-10B anytime soon. It used to sound for fire calls but hasn’t since the 90s and hasn’t tested in a couple years. It is still used for tornadoes though. Sounded for a warning back in April.
