One thing that people who live in Gull Lake are very accustomed to hearing is the siren that is located in the Town Hall building. Every day at noon, it wails once to remind us that it is time for dinner, and if it wails continuously for three minutes, it indicates that the fire department is to being dispatched to a call for help.
However, visitors to our town are unaware of the reason for the siren's wailing. Every year, I receive a few texts or phone calls from guests staying at Campbell's Accommodations who are startled by the siren and are unsure what it means or what action they should take. This is especially true for visitors from communities where similar sirens are used to warn residents of impending tornadoes.
When I was reviewing the search results on the Gull Lake Events website recently, I noticed several searches for "Gull Lake Siren" and "Gull Lake Air raid Siren." I discovered that there is no information available online about the use of the siren. As a result, I decided to publish this information on the Gull Lake Events website.
So, if you hear the siren, it can only mean one of two things. If it goes off once at noon, it's time to eat. If it goes off for three minutes, the fire department is on its way to a call. It is not used as a public warning siren to warn people about tornadoes or other natural disasters.
Blake Campbell
We absolutely need a better way! The sirens wailing is terrifying and unpleasant, and it's totally unecessary to wake the entire town. Is there any other towns that still utilize this system? There is no reason to continue this. I wish that siren would be permanently put out of commission.
It was unnerving to say the least to hear the siren around 5am this morning. Why does the whole hamlet have to know when the emergency services have been summoned in the middle of the night? What purpose does it serve to wake everyone e o e up unnecessarily???
Today I read a guest review from a recent guest who described hearing the air raid siren as terrifying. Many visitors do not understand what the siren means when it sounds. In most parts of the world, sirens are used to warn of impending danger, such as a tornado.
While the siren's whaling may not bother most of us who live in Gull Lake, I understand how it must bother visitors. Hopefully, technology will advance to the point where the siren is no longer required to summon the fire department. I started my career as a volunteer in EMS in 1985, and sirens were never used to dispatch ambulance personnel to calls. Maybe it's time to find a better way to dispatch our firefighters to calls.