ENGINE WARNINGS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 22, 27 January 1942, Page 6

ENGINE WARNINGS

TRIAL OF NEW DEVICE

Most of the main fire brigades in New Zealand have replaced sirens on their engines by bells so that there will be no confusion of the streetclearing warning with an emergency warning, as happened during black-out trials here and at Auckland. Wellington made the change-over early, Lower Hutt followed a couple of days later. But bells are not good enough. They cannot be heard at any distance above tram and traffic noises, and drivers of engines do not feel confident that the road ahead and the intersection ahead will be cleared in time. That has been proved to be so when the Wellington engines have turned out in the last week or two, and running times (have had to be cut down, giving fires more half-minutes in which to take serious hold.

Superintendent H. G. Hume, of the Lower Hutt Brigade, has proposed an alternative, based on Continental engine warnings. It is that engines should carry, instead of bells, the powerful high tone-low tone "musical" electric horn used on some makes of cars, pepped up if heed be, and fitted with a device to switch from tone to tone at about half-second intervals.

Trials were made in the Hutt Valley last night and stirred up a lot of people to wonder what it was all about, but no one had any thought of emergency alarm. Standing tests showed that the changing notes were clearly audible (as to pedestrians) for over 600 yards, and road tests, with the observer in a not J,oo quietly running car, gave unmislakeable audibility of well over 200 yards, and fair audibility over half as far again. Plowever, those tests were made on a quiet roadway. Next they are to be made under city conditions.

If the idea is proved a better solution than bells it may very well be adopted for all brigades. The twotone horns are available, and the rapid switching device is simple enough.