Clymer Borough, PA, Residents Call for Return of Fire Siren after Deadly Blaze

While residents in many communities unite to silence fire sirens, that's not the case in Clymer Borough.

The effort to return the familiar alerting device gained steam after a fire claimed the lives of a father and his two children last month.

“Without a doubt, our fire department couldn’t have done any more than what they did,” he said. “A couple minutes after they activated the pagers, the fire department was on scene. I was told by 911 the whistle or siren would not have done anything,” Clymer Borough Council President Louis Tate told WTAE.

The siren that's been silent since 2019 is missed by some, who plan to take their support for the aerial warning to elected officials. 

Haley Mumau, president of the Clymer Volunteer Department, explained: “It’s always been a staple of this community. I think it gives them a sense of calm. It’s just not operationally needed for our fire company anymore. We have pagers that we all carry. We have our [radios] and apps too."

Teri Curtis-Murdick is one of the residents pushing to hear the siren go off again.

“The fire whistle also alerts people who are driving to get off the road. If you see an emergency, and it’s an elderly person in there, you can try to get them out. I would like the fire whistle back to enhance everything else with the rest of the technology.”

It could cost the borough $100,000 to replace it.