With sirens blaring, a Brooklyn Park fire rescue truck races down Brookdale Boulevard. And as soon as a firefighter turns on the "Rumbler," drivers take notice. The device adds a low-frequency tone that's so strong it can penetrate car doors and windows. When combined with a traditional siren, the Rumbler is hard to ignore.
"Certainly people are noticing the vehicle, it's a different sound," said Ken Prillaman, Brooklyn Park Police Chief.
The Rumbler is mounted under the front bumper area. It's so powerful, it can be heard and felt up to 200 feet away. Most vehicles these days are so sound proof, it's difficult to hear outside noise. That's a problem for emergency crews.
"It seems to me that we're having an increased number of calls where vehicles are not aware that an emergency vehicle is approaching them, until we're right behind them," added Prillaman.
That has not been the case with the Rumbler. We turned the volume on the car radio way up and we were still able to sense the siren. The Rumbler was installed on two new Brooklyn Park rescue vehicles earlier this year. It's been so successful, the department is considering adding more devices to fire trucks.
Yet some residents in Brooklyn Park have been startled by the strange sound. Chief Prillaman said "someone called and suggested that maybe our sirens weren't working." Fire officials said they've seen a difference since adding the device.
"It's an effective way of getting more traffic to clear for us," said Prillaman.
Sonya Goins, reporting
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12 News is on Comcast cable channel 12 in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis and includes the cities Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.
3 апр 2013
