Independence, Ohio Siren System History and Pictures (to be added later)

[fire_freak_57]

Here is some pertinent information I have spent gathering about Independence's siren system, which is comprised of entirely older sirens that were previously part of the Cuyahoga County/Greater Cleveland Civil Defense Siren System. The system is much larger than was previously known (there are 7 sirens in their system in total), so I thought I'd list them. I have listed them in another thread as well but I am listing them again here because I have more information than I did before.

Original CD System: Installed 1953
The original CD system for Cuyahoga County that covered Independence was installed in 1953. It consisted of two Federal Enterprises Thunderbolt 1000 sirens with 6M blowers (they also have "jail bar" grilles). They are single-toned. Installation was completed in 1953 with the two sirens. Installation was conducted by the Cuyahoga County Council of Civilian Defense (CCCCD), the predecessor to the Cuyahoga County Office of Emergency Management (CCOEM). Both will be referenced in this topic as their appropriate abbreviations, so remember those (it saves me typing).

Upon Cleveland's designation as a "target city" by the Federal Civil Defense Administration (Cleveland was very much of an industrial giant at the time and also was home to Nike Missile Bases), a decision was made by CCCCD to install warning sirens to warn the public, should the inevitable occur (of course, this was before alert radios existed) so there were a lot of sirens placed in and around the city, and throughout Cuyahoga County. Orders were placed by CCCCD, and the siren contract was awarded to Federal Enterprises, Inc. (formerly Federal Electric Co., Inc.).

According to records found about the original sirens and the dates the buildings the surviving units are mounted atop of were constructed, installation was completed around 1953 or so. Units installed during this time were Federal Enterprises Thunderbolt 1000 sirens (single-toned units), and featured the reinforced "jail-bar" grille on the horns. They came standard with the Series A1 (also known as the 6M) type blower, as well as the Revision 1 AR Timer and RCM panels. In most of the roof mounted installations, the blower and the RCM panels as well as other siren control cabinets were often mounted inside the building the siren was mounted on. Independence has two Thunderbolts with this setup and type and they are still in operation (one was refurbished recently and sounds very healthy, and the other one at the High School (which is the one that there's multiple recordings of; including mine) is still painted white from way back when and it sounds a little sluggish when operating. I wouldn't be surprised if it was repainted and refurbished sometime in the future like the second Thunderbolt (that one is located at the Mill and Motion Building). Both rotators do not work, and if they do, they are not used. Independence has them facing in the direction they need to cover the most, and they do not plan on fixing the rotators as not only would it be costly but Independence has plenty of other siren coverage from the other sirens they have.

So what was the omni-directional sirens used by the county? The county originally used Federal Signal Model 5A single-toned sirens (Independence has one of these and it's the last remaining of the old CD system that is still in operation), before switching to Federal Signal Model 5AT series, dual-toned, three-phase, 9/12 port sirens (they sound like a SD-10A except in a Model 5 housing) when that series debuted later in the 60's, and the single-toned 5A was installed in the 50's. The 5 and 5AT's were located on streets with houses and businesses, each type of which is about 1/2 mile from each other (except for the 5AT at Brecksville Rd. and Kleber Ct., which covers the residential areas near I-480); that siren is used because with the noise from nearby I-480 (which probably wasn't there when the siren was installed, but it may have been) along with this road being near the industrial part of town makes the Thunderbolt at Mill and Motion in the industrial part of town about a mile north of this siren nearly inaudible. It is also three-phase like its counterparts on the other side of town. All of the Model 5AT's were installed in the 60's and 70's, with exception to their newest three-phase Model 5AT, installed on Brookside Rd./Eastview Drive (across from I-77 overpass which Brookside Rd passes under), which was installed when Federal had already switched their name from Federal Sign & Signal to just Federal Signal Corporation. A fellow member on the board said that particular unit was circa 1982, right before the Model 5T series was discontinued (however it should be noted that Cuyahoga County's CD program was already discontinued, perhaps this siren is earlier than thought or it was installed by the city later?). One of the 5T's was recently refurbished and repainted and is connected to power (if it even was disconnected in the first place, and it used to be a rusty-red color which wasn't the original color (which was obviously CD yellow) but the paint may have chipped off over time or it was just weathered or something). It now looks like it's fresh out of the factory with a fresh coat of bright CD yellow and appears to be restored and refurbished both cosmetically and mechanically/electrically. It is hooked to power. It is also likely a three-phase Model 5AT like all of the other 5T's in Independence (even the Thunderbolts are three phase too if I am correct). I am eager to record this unit since it looks so sharp and brand new and looks appears to be in perfect shape and probably works great, even though it is in a residential neighborhood and development and I'd have to park on the street and angles are limited due to the small grassy patch of land it is on, but I hope to manage that and still get a good, high quality recording of it once Independence begins their monthly tests once again, which start in April, I would first like a HD high-quality recording of the Mill and Motion Thunderbolt since it's the most healthy Thunderbolt they have, it was refurbished and repainted not too long ago, and it packs a punch and it super loud from what I've heard, contrary to the one across from the High School on the Service Center Building (that's the more-sluggish white one). It is somewhat loud but I've heard it's nowhere near as loud as the other Thunderbolt (the refurbished one).

They also have one Federal Model 2 (it's white and looks to be from the 80's or so) installed at the old fire station (now the historical society building) on the roof in downtown Independence, but it is presumably inactive as their doesn't seem to be any power wires going to it and there appears to be conduit going through part of the middle of the siren's shroud (not the bottom like we'd normally see) and their appears to be wires coming out of it that look like they are cut. It could be active but up until this point everyone has presumed it to likely be inactive, but then again, maybe not.

Civil Defense in greater Cleveland wasn't to last, however. During the time, Clevelanders were known to continue to go about their normal business even when sirens would wail around the city during tests of the Civil Defense system as well as residents' lack of participation in mock air-raid drills. The residents simply did not care nor were concerned about the threat. They knew about the threat, but elected to ignore it instead, despite the county commissioner's urging to residents that this was not a matter to ignore. Nevertheless, as civil defense programs sputtered and died throughout the U.S. following the 1960's, Cleveland was one of the first major cities to discontinue the program. As the Case Western Reserve University's Encyclopedia of Cleveland History states about the prospect of Civil Defense in Cuyahoga County, "Greater Clevelanders, however, were generally fatalistic about the prospects of surviving a nuclear war. Citizens, familiar with daily traffic jams, considered the evacuation plans unworkable, and the utility of self-built fallout shelters endorsed by the federal government in the 1960s was met with skepticism. Municipalities gradually lost interest in financing the program, and in 1971, county commissioners terminated the civil defense agreements. The county civil defense office officially closed 30 Nov. 1972."

After the civil defense program was terminated in 1971, and the county civil defense office closed on November 30, 1972, all the sirens were removed. In 1972 when the civil defense office closed, and the subsequent Cuyahoga County Office of Emergency Management was formed, all of the sirens had been removed. The City of Independence subsequently purchased their sirens from the county or obtained them since they were on city property after the civil defense office closed. In the city of Cleveland, only one Thunderbolt remains. It is on top of the National Foods Packaging Plant on 8200 Madison Avenue. I want to photograph it at some point, but it is not the safest area to be in, and I am not comfortable being by myself in a city of course; and it looks to be a bad neighborhood, so I think I'll pass.

I also found a picture online of the evacuation route map from the county civil defense agency at the time it was active on Google. I think I also saved it to my computer; I'll have to check.

I hope you enjoy reading this piece of history, and I enjoyed doing the long research on this several-month long project. I hope this will shed more light on the Civil Defense program that once was. Luckily the city has a piece of the civil defense programs through the sirens and will continue to maintain them over the years; they have no plans to replace the sirens and do a great job refurbishing them.

If there's any more developments on this in the future, I will be sure to edit this post and topic accordingly. All the pictures will be added later as they are on my other computer.

[fire_freak_57]

Now I have time to post the pictures of this siren. Please note that these pictures are copyrighted by me and may not be used under any circumstance without permission first (If you ask, I will probably say yes).

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Brecksville Rd. and Kleber Ct. Model 5AT

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Dalebrook Rd. "Refurbished" Model 5AT

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Mill and Motion Building Federal Enterprises Thunderbolt 1000. Installed in 1952 or 1953 according to news archives.

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Closeup of the Bar Grille on the Thunderbolt. It uses the Revision 1 RCM/AR Timer and an A1 (6M) Blower; both installed inside the building.

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Rear view; showing the roof/sidewall mount. Most of the Thunderbolts (at least the two in Independence) were installed this way.

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Closeup of the Thunderbolt

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Brookside Road/Eastview Drive Model 5AT. This one may have been installed by the city rather than by Civil Defense authorities, although I cannot confirm this.

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Controls on the 5AT

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Data tag on said 5AT's RC5WA control cabinet.

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Closeup through the trees.

I have a couple more pictures but that is all for now.

[Brendan W]

Seeing as how CD was out by 72 and that 5T is from 1982, it most likely was a municipal install.

Aside from that, great job!

[fire_freak_57]

Well it’s the time of year that Independence begins testing again. Keep your eye out for a vid of the Yellow Federal Enterprises Thunderbolt 1000A at the Mill and Motion Building tomorrow...after the siren failed in December as they changed their test policy from year round to strictly only after SWA I’m hyped to see it in action, and hopefully it’s better than the sick sounding one at the service center near the high school.