Local News

Calls heard loud and clear in Darien

By Lauren Klein
Special Correspondent

Published August 2 2005

DARIEN -- On an August day two years ago, the Belloli family ate dinner on their porch, enjoying the lazy sounds of crickets and birds.

Then -- HONK. HONK. HONK.

A jarring noise echoed through the trees, disrupting the peace. It was the newly repaired fire horn perched atop the Darien firehouse on Boston Post Road. The horn lets volunteers know they are needed to respond to an emergency.

Because it was broken, the Bellolis lived in their house at 5 Highland Drive, about 1,000 feet from the firehouse, for about a year before they knew a horn would sound several times each day.

They aren't the only residents who don't like it.

"We referred to the noise as Queen Mary," said James Mageras, an 11-year Darien resident. "It's like a steamship coming into town."

Volunteer fire departments in Stamford, New Canaan and Greenwich use radio pagers to communicate an emergency. The Darien, Noroton and Noroton Heights departments are the last in lower Fairfield County to use the horn, though they also use pagers.

The horn, which uses a Morse-like code to identify the site and severity of a call, is a tradition, like the firehouse Dalmatian and firefighters sliding down a pole.

The traditions now are redundant with technological advancements, fire officials and residents agree.

The dog and the pole may be sentimental symbols, but the horn makes only firefighters smile.

"The pagers are nice and all, but I love that noise," said Chief Brian Kelly of the Cos Cob Fire Department in Greenwich. "It'll rumble the house, but it got you going."

The Cos Cob Fire Department recently renovated its building -- without the horn. Kelly said though the horn has not been used regularly since the 1980s, he's familiar with the complaints in Darien.

"A new generation of people comes into town and say, 'You're waking up my baby,'" he said. "But in my own personal opinion, they should suck it up."

The Bellolis, who once lived in New York and moved to Darien from New Jersey five years ago, said the noise not only wakes up their 10-month-old baby. Their pediatrician told them it disrupts the baby's sleep development, too.

Kelly Belloli said that, two years ago, their eldest son, now 6, was so startled by the sudden noise that he fell off the swing in their backyard.

"It would go off 10 times in a row during the night," said Julie Dahlquist, who moved from 5 Fairview Ave. near the fire station to a home on Miles Road, miles away. "That doesn't create a sense of tradition, it creates angst. It seems like technology should have a better backup system than the horn."

Residents and shop owners are concerned that the horn threatens their ear and heart health.

With a hand-held sound pressure meter, commonly used for calibrating speaker systems, Mageras measured 90 decibels at his front door at 30 Sedgwick Ave., about 900 feet from the Darien fire station. On the Boston Post Road, it exceeds 100 decibels, Mageras said.

According to noise guidelines for a residential area set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, noise exceeding 90 decibels "poses a threat to health and welfare."

The town ordinance holds residents accountable for noise disturbances for nights, early mornings and weekends, and exempts emergency signals.

"The Board of Selectmen must dictate what is acceptable and bring it to law," Mageras said. "This community must promote an environment that is for their citizens, that is free from noise that jeopardizes their health and welfare."

Pierre and Michelle Gagnon, owners of Couleur Provence, a home furnishing store across from the fire station, said they've seen passersby burn themselves from spilling coffee after being startled by the sudden noise.

"Believe us, we're big on tradition," Pierre Gagnon said. "But this is extreme. The volume can be lower."

Darien Fire Chief Dennis Smith said the purpose of the horn goes beyond nostalgia -- it is an important backup in the case of radio failure. The only way to mute the horn is to switch to a paid fire staff, Smith said.

Robert Bennett, a volunteer chief at the Long Ridge Fire Department in Stamford, said the horn is a good backup.

"If you have a radio failure, you can always hear that horn blowing," Bennett said. "The volunteers want the people to know we're doing our thing."

Some Darien residents, such as Jane Ziegler, 80, who lives in Sedgwick Village on Sedgwick Avenue behind the firehouse, are not bothered by the horn.

"It makes me feel safe," said Ziegler, who has lived in Darien since 1953.

Selectwoman Evonne Klein invited residents to discuss the fire horn at a recent Board of Selectmen meeting. So far, there has been no decision to change the regulations.

Until that happens, firefighters and residents will respond to the horn with a jump -- but for different reasons.