This week, Fishers firefighters took a piece of Fishers Fire Department history down from the grain silo. They will begin to restore it in anticipation of integrating it into the new fire station being built to replace current Station 391, located at 2 Municipal Drive.
Photo provided by Fishers Fire Department
Firefighters removed an old siren that was used in the 1960s and ‘70s as a way to alert volunteer firefighters of an emergency. According to the U.S. Census, the population at that time was estimated at 344.
Much like the tornado sirens you hear today, this device roared its warning across the townships, but has sat on top of the old grain silo behind the Nickel Plate Restaurant for decades, in a silent watch over the city. It has done its job of alerting responders to help neighbors in trouble and lived out its life until technology with pagers made it obsolete.
The siren was obtained originally from the Indiana Civil Defense and hoisted by hand to the top in the mid-1960s.
While its incorporation into the new station is still undetermined as to the “how,” firefighters know they want to keep as much of the department’s history alive as possible so that new firefighters can better understand where the department has come from and where it continues to go.
About the Fishers Fire Department
Fishers Fire Department was founded in 1955 as a volunteer organization that was later turned over to the Town of Fishers to operate and hired its first full-time fire fighters in 1990. Now, 132 sworn personnel and 10 civilians operate out of seven stations to protect an estimated 92,000 people throughout nearly 36 square miles. Fishers firefighters respond to nearly 6,000 emergencies a year.