Ribbon Cutting for the Oldest Thunderbolt Siren in the World

Рет қаралды 7,172

Күн бұрын

Julie Stimson, Director Sedgwick County Emergency Management | 00:00
Ryan Baty, Sedgwick County Commissioner | 3:33
Brent Gambral, Federal Signal | 8:27
Jonathan Marr, Sedgwick County Emergency Management | 9:48
Ribbon Cutting | 26:49
Siren goes off | 28:58
Eric Cale, Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum | 36:25
Chance Hayes | Wichita National Weather Service | 41:24
Kenneth Urban (K.U.) Benjamin and Sgt. Paul Hansen were honored at this event for their significant part in severe weather awareness in our county. K.U. Benjamin installed 13 sirens throughout Wichita, four of which are still in service today. His volunteer work changed the way we warn the public of danger, and it is a sound nearly every Wichitan has heard since 1952. On the night of June 10, 1958, Sgt. Paul Hansen made the decision to activate the Thunderbolt Air Raid sirens to warn of a weather event. It is the first time such a thing had happened, at least in Sedgwick County, and we have been doing it ever since. There is no way to quantify the number of lives that may have been saved in the decades that followed.
These 70 year old historic outdoor warning devices can be seen at Sedgwick County Fire Station (SCFD) 32, SCFD Station 38, Wichita Fire Station 20 and on a traveling exhibit used by Sedgwick County Emergency Management.

Пікірлер: 46

@SonicBoone56 Жыл бұрын

Beautiful. Civil engineers rarely get any love, it's just amazing to see something utilitarian get love from the community. Nothing beats sirens for outdoor warnings, that's why they're still around. They're not made to be heard inside, they're made to be heard by people outside who need to seek shelter immediately.

@SirensAndAlarmsOfNorthernIL Жыл бұрын

This proves sirens aren’t “old obsolete technology” like people say. Like Ryan Baty’s friend said, he heard a siren and even tho they weren’t expecting severe weather, he took shelter. Sirens are another way to warn people of severe weather. You can’t always rely on just cellphones, or just sirens. The more ways you have to warn a community, the better it is

@SonicBoone56 Жыл бұрын

People who say they're obsolete have no idea what they're talking about. They're for outdoor use only, warning people outside and away from shelter to take shelter immediately. It doesn't replace nor is it replaced by smartphones, TVs, or emergency radios. They're yet another way to warn the public and many countries are adopting them realizing they still have purpose.

@J19_vlogger74 Жыл бұрын

So true. I was in a severe weather outbreak (there was a tornado on the ground heading town town.) And my phone never went off until AFTER everything was over!

@SirensAndAlarmsOfNorthernIL Жыл бұрын

@@J19_vlogger74 that’s the point. I live by a siren and it has never failed and every time there is a tornado warning for my area, it goes off long before my phone does

@CentralVirginiaEAS 7 ай бұрын

I will be honest, sometimes ya gotta switch to modern ways of alerting due to the costs of older technology.

@SirensAndAlarmsOfNorthernIL 7 ай бұрын

@@CentralVirginiaEAS well actually older sirens are much cheaper to buy as u can get them from a junkyard, restore them, and install them but they’re just not reliable so I do agree with you. However I hate it when towns replace 2001s with 2001s. Like my town replaced a good 2nd gen SRN with a 130 for literally no reason although those can run for a very long time with no maintenance and the only kind of “maintenance” the 2nd generation SRNs need is just oiling the rotator and checking the rotator’s belts

@JULYXXIV 2 ай бұрын

Dear Sedgwick County officials: I don’t know if you’ll see this, but please, PLEASE hold on to your Thunderbolt sirens for as long as possible. When compared to the FS 2001’s, the Thunderbolt seems louder, more distinct, and does an all-around better job of alerting the public of the very real danger that is approaching. Johnson County has long replaced its Thunderbolt sirens, even if it wasn’t necessary. Don’t make the same mistake.

@kansasclocksandsirens 17 күн бұрын

Too bad. It's gonna happen. 2001s are much more reliable and require much less maintenance

@Jaxson28 10 ай бұрын

I live here, and this siren is very old and still works perfectly fine

@adamssirenadventures6574 Жыл бұрын

I wished I could come to this some day.

@Rcdude2007 6 ай бұрын

Ngl That thunderbolt sounded sick for that sound off.

@SETX_Sirens_and_Rail_02 Жыл бұрын

Wonderful presentation. Wish I could have made it

@Cemoman17 9 ай бұрын

Find it so cool that this is in my home state. I’m from Topeka and their old siren system is what flared my interest in sirens. I’m glad their history is getting more recognized and appreciated as many lives depended on these in the fallout days. Among all of that it’s amazing these things hold up to this day!

@S-CB-SL-Animations Жыл бұрын

This is amazing!

@warningsirensofmichio9660 Жыл бұрын

Awesome 👍😎

@Code3Indiana Жыл бұрын

Loved this video, thunderbolts truly are amazing!

@ThunderboltOverkill Жыл бұрын

Thank you for uploading this!

@IHeartAGM Жыл бұрын

That really kicks ass! 😃

@thatoneboygaming4354 7 ай бұрын

they should sell federal signal hoodies for siren enthusiasts.

@ithken 6 ай бұрын

29:00 the berds around ''AAAHHHHHHHH A TORNADO''

@zappatx 8 ай бұрын

Omaha needs them once again!! Sioux Falls too.. Where did they send the old ones? I'll restore one out of my own pocket.

@kansasclocksandsirens 6 ай бұрын

They were restored by Cruz N. From Table Rock Alerting Systems

@a3denclaggett254 4 ай бұрын

Sioux Falls, SD?

@keeyonass5127 4 ай бұрын

This siren sound is better than what we have. Ours is too loud

@csx_defectdetector Жыл бұрын

Modulator?

@RealSkullage 5 ай бұрын

so the first thunderbolt was single tone?

@WV_SIREN_PRODUCTIONS 4 ай бұрын

Ya all were at first

@emmalarsen9931 6 ай бұрын

Why does the thunderbolt blower and controller looks new🎉🎉🎉

@kansasclocksandsirens 6 ай бұрын

It was restored. The controller is a brand new FCTDH

@seamorethesealt Жыл бұрын

Wait so if it’s the oldest thunderbolt In the world, is it gas powered?

@kansasclocksandsirens Жыл бұрын

Nope. It's also not the oldest Thunderbolt in the world. That would be T-73. This is T-75. This is the oldest Thunderbolt in service.

@PlatinumEagleStudios 10 ай бұрын

The Thunderbolt was never designed to be gas powered. They were built as electromechanical sirens, meaning they use electricity and not gas.

@williamrickley4337 10 ай бұрын

@PlatinumEagleStudios there actually were gas powered variants of the thunderbolt siren known as the system 7000 series

@PlatinumEagleStudios 10 ай бұрын

@@williamrickley4337 Oh right I completely forgot about those. I wonder if any were actually installed. It would be cool if someone found an old one and made a video of it. But I highly doubt there are any left......

@raizrindustries 10 ай бұрын

@@PlatinumEagleStudios There were two gas models made over the production run; the Federal Enterprises Thunderbolt 2000 which used an engine to run a generator and run the blower. As far as I know only seven remain with only one having its original engine, one being active (blower converted to 3-phase electric), and the rest inactive. And the System 7000, which used a gas generator to power everything, with each siren head (1000, 1000T, and 1003) being named the System 7012, 7022, and 7026. Only one, a System 7026, remains inactive in Kuwait.

@noooo_safechat2589 8 ай бұрын

Sorry did I hear 70 years old?

@kansasclocksandsirens 6 ай бұрын

Yes. You heard that right

@thunderboltproductions8618 10 ай бұрын

It already died 💀

@kansasclocksandsirens 9 ай бұрын

That was T116

@CentralALSirens 8 ай бұрын

@@kansasclocksandsirens T116 was repaired.

@kansasclocksandsirens 8 ай бұрын

@@CentralALSirens I'm aware

@braniganirby3586 4 ай бұрын

😂 28:13

@RobloxUS-ARMY 5 ай бұрын

Take that old ass thing down, i love thunderbolts but you can NOT here that shit ngl. I could go there and then i wake up and see jesus.. 😂 (Joke) I really appreciate it though.