H.O.R. Super Sirex 15 Siren Test Hamilton, Ohio 1/4/23

Routine Test of the old HOR siren in downtown Hamilton to kick off 2023. This is Hamilton's oldest siren, likely installed in the mid 1950s as a Civil Defense Air Raid Siren. Today it is likely the only one left of its type still standing that still functions. I only know of one other Super Sirex 15 model that existed in the state which was in North Canton, Ohio on the Hoover Factory building which was removed in 2016. Being that this siren is quite frequented by fellow enthusiasts, I decided to set up across the Great Miami River for a bit of a distance shot. This perspective gives you an idea of how much sound is projected from the intake cone on the siren. Most of the sound comes out the bottom under the motor/chopper shroud. This siren is a 7/10 chopper port dual rotor, dual tone siren which produces a "tritone" chord or better known as the devil's chord. Which is naturally very unsettling to listen to since the 2 notes are 3 steps apart from each other. H.O.R. is an acronym for Harry O. Ricci which was the founder of the company that manufactured these sirens.

This siren is located on top of Heritage Hall on High St. which was Hamilton's original Municipal Building. Today the building is mixed use with a micro brewery and other small organizations occupying the space. The Clock Tower seen in the video is the Butler County Courthouse. Hamilton also has 5 Thunderbolt 1000Ts, a 2001-130, and 3 508 sirens making up their system. In video you may be able to pick out a 508 and one of the 1000Ts in the background. The Thunderbolts were installed in the mid 70s after the events of the April 3rd, 1974 tornado super outbreak which ravaged SW Ohio. Originally I believe there were 8 total Thunderbolts in Hamilton. The 2001-130 replaced one on Hamilton High School when the school underwent renovations in the late 2000s. The 2001 stands by their baseball field. Another stood on Lincoln School on N E St. The building was demolished in 2011. The location is now just a grassy field. The last one removed was next to the City Garage on S Erie Blvd. I have a video from April, 2013 of this siren sounding before being removed a couple years later from the blower seizing up. One of these bolts is laying in their maintenance yard near the railroad tracks. The other 5 active Thunderbolts are located at: Old Fire Station #7 on Shuler and Bender Ave, Fire Station #25 on N Erie Blvd and Elm St, St. Ann's Church on Hooven and Pleasant Ave, End of Clovernook Dr, and N Gersam and Westview Ave. The 3 FS 508s were installed around 2014-15 to "replace" the old system but the city decided to keep the old sirens running until they totally break. The 508 sirens are located at: Ridgeway school on Wasserman Rd, Joe Nuxhall and Neal Blvd, and University near Grand Blvd.

Butler County Tests their sirens every 1st Wednesday of the month at 12 noon. (today they sounded at 12:02 ) If Inclement Weather is in the area the test will be cancelled for that month. They sound a 3 minute Alert cycle.