Firefighters sue siren manufacturer over hearing loss

More than one thousand firefighters are suing an Illinois-based siren company on claims that it impaired their health. (Education Images/Getty)

More than 4,000 current and retired firefighters across the US are suing an Illinois siren company on claims that their alarms endangered their health nearly everyday on the job.

Federal Signal Corp, the Illinois-based manufacturer, has argued against the claims by saying that the sirens are safe and necessary for the public's safety.

However, in 2011, the company settled cases against more than 1,000 Philadelphia firefighters who were rewarded $3.6 million.

George Beary, 72, chair of the committee of retired Chicago firefighters, told the Chicago Tribune that he suffers from tinnitus, a constant ringing in his ear.

“There’s a constant ringing in the background. There’s not really anything you can do for it,” he said.

“It’s a real annoyance. I just try to have the TV higher than the ringing.”

Marc Bern, an attorney representing the firefighters in all the lawsuits, said that lawsuits in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Illinois began surfacing more than a decade ago.

"Clearly, you don't have to have sound going all the way to the rear of the fire engine," he told the Associated Press.

"If you're driving behind a fire engine and you don't see a 50-foot-long, red engine with lights going on and off, there's really something wrong."

However, David Duffy, who reps the siren company, told the AP that adjusting sirens would risk the safety of the firefighters as well as the public.

"Firefighters have testified that they want a loud siren that projects noise to the front and sides of fire trucks,” he said.