The last emergency siren in St. Catharines

When I was a kid, a number of these big yellow sirens on tall white poles resided throughout the town. Every now and then they'd go off, though nobody really knew why. As an adult I've often looked back and thought that their trumpeting was likely part of some city-wide testing to make sure they worked in case the bombs ever dropped. Now, thanks to the fine folks at Waymarking, I have my answer;

These had served no real purpose until they were decommission[ed] and used for calling the Fire Fighters to service.

So there we have it! When I was a kid, chances are the sirens I'd here were a rallying cry for off-duty firefighters to hop in their gear and get on the job.

Of course it still doesn't answer the question of why they were there in the first place. Air raid sirens from the second World War, perhaps? My money's still on Cold War preparedness. If anyone in Niagara knows the real origin of these yellow snorks on a stick, please let us know in the comments!

You can check out the last of the emergency sirens in the southwest corner of Kernahan Park, wires cut, obscured by trees.

Image: Waymarking

TAGS: Cold War, Emergency, Firefighters, Siren, Stcatharines