“It was a difficult decision, and it’s sad it had to come to this. But, we had no choice.”
That’s how Romney, W.Va. Fire Chief G.T. Parsons feels about turning off the siren from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m.
“I just hope our volunteers show up for calls during that time. That’s what worries me more than anything,” he said in a telephone interview Wednesday night. “We can’t always rely on our pagers and messages on our cell phones.”
The siren – mounted on a pole behind the fire station on Gravel Lane -- will remain silent overnight even in the event of a weather alert.
“It will not blow for fire emergencies as well as tornados, flooding or any other natural disaster between those hours,” he said.
Parsons added the company decided to pull the plug rather than go to court and fight.
“We pinch pennies here like everyone else. We aren’t going to spend taxpayers’ money that way,” the chief said. “I know things like this are costly.”
The complaint about the siren came from one citizen, and the threat of a lawsuit brought about the silencing decision.
The siren is what alerted several firefighters to an overnight call recently because the communications center was experiencing an issue. And, he doesn’t want to think about what happens now.
In his letter to his community, the chief wrote: “…on behalf of the membership, we apologize for the inconvenience and hope that no person's safety is compromised.”
The department's 45 volunteers respond to about 360 fire calls annually.
Parsons added there has been overwhelming support since he posted a notice on the department’s Facebook page.
“It’s been shared all over the place. And, people have been supporting us, which is really nice…”
