What's It Like Living Next to a Fire Station?
August 23, 2008 | 12:37 pmGLC writes in that he’s considering purchasing a home very close to the location of the new Oakhurst fire station and wonders whether there are any noise ordinances on the books that apply to the Decatur Fire Dept. The only thing I can find in the city’s noise ordinance is an EXEMPTION for city emergency vehicles.
So to help GLC out, I appeal to the expansive knowledge of my readers. What’s your experience living next to or near a fire station? (if it was the old Oakhurst fire station, even better) Are the sirens frequent and obnoxious?
I think the Fire/Rescue folks would tell you they are aware of the upset that they can cause and only make a lot of noise during quiet times if they need to. Suggest asking the Asst City Mgr for Emergency Services, Tony Parker, what his take is. tony.parker@decaturga.com
Interesting thing about the noise ordinance is that if One West Court Square were alive, it would violate Section 42-59(4), which prohibits “owning, possessing or harboring of any animal which frequently, or for continued duration, howls, barks, meows, squawks or makes other sound which creates excessive and unnecessary noise across a residential or commercial real property line…”
What was One West Court Square? Dont know that one…
Ordinances like that drive me a little crazy…its very vague. How long is “frequently”? what is “excessive and unnecessary”? There are a lot of dogs that bark, quite a bit, near me. Doesnt bother me AT ALL. Nor do the people who mow their lawn at 8pm, couldnt really care less…But others may consider it excessive. Seems like very arbitrary language for an ordinance.
Great point Alan. (? – he’s talking about the recorded bird sounds that One West Courthouse plays to deter birds from flying into its glassy goodness. Also to your point, vagueness provides necessary flexibility). Regardless of the fact that the birds are recorded, I think there’s enough in that noise ordinance to argue that One West Courthouse is breaking it.
Especially Sec. 42-58…
“Noise of such character, intensity or duration as to be detrimental to the life or health of any individual or in disturbance of the public peace and welfare is prohibited.”
Also you could probably argue that the animal ordinance applies to a recording of animals as well…because really what’s the difference?
So then it becomes not necessarily the ordinance that dictates what is “excessive”, its the people interpreting it that dictate. and those people can change with the seasons…
regardless of that off topic thingy…I agree, seems as though the ordinance would apply to the recording.
I lived next to a fire station when I was a college student. What noise? Actually, I think whether the noise bothers you depends on where you’ve lived before and possibly the stage of your life. We really truly did not even hear the sirens after about a week. But I was 20 and living in Pittsburgh and thought it was cool that I could stroll down the street in the middle of the night to buy a pack of cigarettes from their machine and shoot the breeze with the guys. Thirty-some years later I’m living a block from the railroad tracks in Decatur and it took about a month to quit being startled by the train whistles. Oh, and I did quit smoking.
You could probably ask the people that live around the Feld House where the tree fell a month ago about sound ordinances. Apparently there are pit bulls there that bark all the time and the city has never done anything about it. Food for thought on the “ordinance”.
My old office was half a block from Fire Station #1, and the call to action was VERY loud. I never understand why they insist on blaring multiple sirens when pulling out onto an empty street. They then continue down the streets with sirens blaring. The same also seems true in the middle of the night. Why Decatur PD can do almost everything *without* making noise yet Fire must make constant noise has always been beyond me. I hope the new Fire Chief will institute some serious change so that Fire can be as professional as Police.
Left Wing, if you don’t call and report the barking, the City will not know about it. The police can issue a citation, but they have to know about it first.
A. Living close to a fire department makes me feel secure. I don’t mind the noise.
B. They blast the horns to let the fire/medical emergency scene know they are on their way.
We live on Feld and hear the sirens from the trucks going down Mead often – far more often than anywhere else I have lived. I have lived down the street from a firestation before and would think twice about doing it again.
OK, let me ask you this, if the Fire Department is going to a life threatening call with no siren, but lights on, and they hit a car broadside, who is at fault? The driver of the car because he didn’t “hear” the truck, or the Fire Department because they violated GA law. GEORGIA LAW calls for that if the lights are on, the siren must be running……
I live less than 75 yards from the Oakhurst fire station site, on East Lake Drive. I have heard more noise while the old station was being torn down and new station has been built than I have heard of fire engines and sirens while the station was operating. I’ve lived there more than 2 years, and hardly notice it is there.
They are building a fire station next to my rural house right now! I bought this house because it was quiet and away from town, now they are building a fire station here. Will this cause a loss in property value? Does the city govt compensate homeowners for this loss?
Salima, it may cause your insurance rates to go down. If anything, it will make your property value increase, IMHO.