Dec 8, 2007

It isloud.

No one is disputing that. The Darien Fire Department’s horn alerting its volunteers of a needed response is loud. But it is loud because it has to be.

The Board of Selectmen on Monday discussed the horn, which was brought to the selectmen’s attention when a large number of petitions addressing the horn’s volume were delivered last month to First Selectman Evonne Klein. The petitions were presented with cover letters accusing the system of being outdated.

Representatives from the three fire departments explained that Darien’s fire department is entirely volunteer and that is why the horn is needed.

Neighboring towns that have paid firefighters do not need the horn. But those that are all volunteer use the horn to alert members of an emergency.

Cell phones, beepers and other communications are subject to the mercy of outside networks and human error. It is not hard to forget to turn on a pager, or leave the pager at home.

And in true emergencies, often, those resources are unavailable. A cellular system is easily overloaded. A pager network can go down. Sometimes, a blackout can take out all forms of technological communication.

Former Darien Fire Chief Dennis Smith told the selectmen he couldn’t articulate the importance of the horn, saying he did a study of how often and how easy it is for volunteers to have their beeper off. He said it happens more often than not.

Is that to say there is no compromise?

We think there can be.

The fire commission can meet with neighbors and work on the tone of the horn, as was mentioned by former selectman Barbara Thorne. A warning note could be sounded so the initial horn is not so jarring.

Compromises can be made. But no compromise is worth risking safety. A loud nuisance should be tolerated over an unreliable alert system.

But a town that enjoys the financial benefits of an all volunteer fire department needs to accept the fire horn as a small price to pay.

A small one, when weighed against the dedication of our first responders, who don’t consider the horn a nuisance in their daily lives.

They consider it a call to duty.

© Copyright 2007 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers