Central Florida & Surrounding Siren Dicussion

[Thundercode]

The thunderbolt for sure is not active, it was not in a different direction from street view image months prior when I saw in person a few weeks back. From what I have also heard the "Model 2" has not been active for some time.

Just because it hasn't rotated does not mean it's not active, all it takes is the rotator starter to trip or a belt to break and they won't rotate.

Very good point, however there is no word of an active siren in St. Petersburg, Only the Tampa Bay Modulators nearby. It also seems this Thunderbolt has not been seen or documented before, very interesting as Thunderbolts are quite liked and widely searched for, but surprises always do spring up! And if it does turn out to be still active, I would for sure plan a trip down there!

[Brendan W]

I remember reading a while back that Miami had some sirens, most notably a chrysler and a 1003. I know that the chrysler is gone (but the turntable mount is still left), and the 1003 is still up somewhere in the city. Does anyone know about any sirens in the Miami area?

[Fletch]

There's no sign of Tampa's T-Bolt system anymore. But they did have T-Bolts at these locations:

*Hillsborough County Courthouse
*Plant High School
*Gray St. north of Kennedy Blvd.
**Possibly Tampa Int'l Airport short term parking garage-Someone on YouTube mentioned this T-Bolt is still there but I can't find it on Bird's Eye view and I never saw it from my trips to TPA

In Pinellas County, there were also T-Bolts at:

*Pinellas Park Elementary School
*Kenneth City fire station

Another YouTuber said there were some STL-10's at elementary schools in St. Pete, but I couldn't find any.

[murrfarms]

There's no sign of Tampa's T-Bolt system anymore. But they did have T-Bolts at these locations:

*Hillsborough County Courthouse
*Plant High School
*Gray St. north of Kennedy Blvd.
**Possibly Tampa Int'l Airport short term parking garage-Someone on YouTube mentioned this T-Bolt is still there but I can't find it on Bird's Eye view and I never saw it from my trips to TPA

In Pinellas County, there were also T-Bolts at:

*Pinellas Park Elementary School
*Kenneth City fire station

Another YouTuber said there were some STL-10's at elementary schools in St. Pete, but I couldn't find any.

I figured that any of their sirens that were originally pole-mounted were some of the first to go in the 80s, and I'm sure any of them that were on buildings and were fairly easy to get to were also removed as well. If I have the time while I'm down there, I will try to look around and see if maybe there are any others still in place that were forgotten about or weren't able to be removed.

[Thundercode]

For the St. Pete Thunderbolt, It truly is boggling my mind, is likely a lone survivor as I combed schools in the area and large buildings & tourist centers on Google Maps(bird and street views), everything is either too new or I overlooked. No sirens in sight, reminds me of how Ocala is, with its only ONE supposed siren in the past, but have a feeling it had a system at some point as Ocala is quite large now and probably was then too.

[Stevan Z]

Found an article from November 1980 which says that "air raid sirens will sound in St. Petersburg for one minute signaling a parade and a moment of silence" for Veteran's Day.

So, must have been more than one. What's weird is you can't see the T-Bolt on Bird's Eye view, but you can see the horn on Streetview.

Ironically I just stumbled upon that very same newspaper article while digging around for information last night. A while back I actually read a much more recent article that talked about some kind of siren going off in the downtown area of either St. Petersburg or Tampa (I can't remember which one it was for sure), but I can't find it now. I doubt that the Thunderbolt is active anymore, however about six years ago when I recorded the one atop the Pinellas County Jail, I could have sworn I faintly heard another siren off to the south winding down once the jail siren shut off. As I said, I really doubt it was the downtown Thunderbolt that I heard but it's entirely possible since that siren appears to be pointing due north and has been for quite some time.

On another note, the Port of Tampa has a siren system in place for warning both the port workers and any nearby residents of a hazardous situation at the port. The original system was comprised of a couple or so Whelen omnis, but they were replaced fairly recently with a new larger system of Modulators both at the port itself and in areas immediately surrounding the port.

As for the current status of that Thunderbolt on the municipal building in downtown St. Petersburg, I'm planning to take a drive over there and hopefully get some decent pictures of it while we're down there next week for our annual family vacation over in Treasure Island. If I have the time to do so, I may also try to squeeze in a trip to the Port of Tampa area and see if maybe I can grab an ambiance recording of their sirens being tested, provided that they do still test them daily like they used to.

Didn't you say that other siren you heard was an STH-10 at a local school that got taken down not too long after?

[Fletch]

There was an article done by the St. Pete Times from 10/21/85 about air raid sirens, but of course that edition isn't available on Google news search.

The article has a picture of a T-Bolt on an unknown building, definitely not the Municipal Services Building.

[murrfarms]

While I was in the St. Pete area on our annual vacation last week, I was able to go into downtown and snap a few good photos of the old Thunderbolt on the Municipal Services Building from two different angles. I wish I had gotten the chance earlier on into the trip to get in touch with the city to arrange a visit to see the whole siren up close on the roof, but hopefully I'll have more time by next year when we go back down there again (given it's still there, which it should be).




(click on any of the photos above for full resolution)

[Thundercode]

We have a breakthrough! I have found a Model 2 VERY NEAR Ocala, I never knew about this fire department or the siren! https://www.google.com/maps/search/fire ... 1664?hl=en

EDIT: Better angle! https://www.google.com/maps/@28.9818432 ... 6656?hl=en

[Thundercode]

And minutes later........I find a VERY poor Screamer in Inverness. https://www.google.com/maps/@28.8494753 ... !1e1?hl=en


EDIT: Model X Very Very Near the Screamer. https://www.google.com/maps/@28.8342312 ... 6656?hl=en