Hamilton, OH

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Revision as of 14:30, 10 October 2022 by Sirensandfirealarms (talk | contribs) (Corrected and added information)
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Hamilton is a city in Butler County, Ohio, 20 miles north of Cincinnati, that has a rather unique siren system


Siren System History

In 1942, Hamilton had a Chrysler Air Raid Siren. Not much is known about this other than the fact that they had one. In 1953, Hamilton purchased three sirens from HOR Company Inc., one at the Municipal building (which is still in service, see below) and one at the Municipal garage/Public Works Building. Although it is unknown what the other two were, it is speculated that they were smaller HOR sirens. Hamilton installed 7 5/6 port Federal Signal Thunderbolt 1000ATs in 1975, likely in response to the massive tornado outbreak in the area the previous year. Another unit was installed at the Public Works Building by Werden Electric in the 1990s, and originally came from Dublin, Ohio. All units purchased in 1975 were originally roof mounted, but 4 were moved to poles in the 1990s. The schools that the sirens once stood on were all torn down in 2010 due to a large school remodeling project that the city did.

These sirens were located at:

The siren at St. Ann Catholic School was originally located on top of Taylor Elementary School, before being either moved or replaced by a new Thunderbolt.currently unconfirmed information These sirens accompany a rare 7/10 port HOR Super Sirex No. 15 located near the middle of the city on the former municipal building. This is likely the last existing unit of this model.

Current System

Since then, 3 of the 8 Thunderbolts have been removed:

  • Hamilton City Garage (Was removed due to renovations, indirectly replaced by a 508. Auctioned off via GovDeals to an unknown buyer in 2016.)
  • Hamilton High School (School was renovated entirely in 2010, directly replaced by a 2001-130. Auctioned off via GovDeals to an unknown buyer in 2016.)
  • Lincoln Elementary (School was demolished in 2010, no direct replacement, currently lies behind the Public Works Building)

All other sirens remain in place and are in working order.

In 2014, Hamilton added 3 Federal Signal 508s to the system. Due to an erroneous news report that stated the sirens were replacing the old system, many enthusiasts thought the old system would be replaced, rather than added to. However, in 2016 it was discovered that the city would only replace sirens as they died. Hamilton tests their sirens with the rest of Butler County, on the first Wednesday of every month at Noon, weather permitting.