Does Silver City have to be Siren City?
By Frost McGahey

ambulanceFrom Wikipedia

"Silver City's siren noise is worse that Orange County, CA's," said a retired paramedic who has moved back to town. "It never used to be that loud."

Another citizen commented, "Silver City is in a bowl. That's why a siren blaring on Market Street can be heard at Wal-Mart. It seems sirens are going off all the time."

When someone makes a call to 911, it goes to Dispatch and all medical calls are passed on to the Gila Regional Medical Center's Emergency Response Services. There all medical calls are treated the same. A sprained ankle is given the same lights and siren response as a heart attack. First Responders believe that they won't be legally liable if lights and sirens are on, and they have an accident.

An ambulance emerges with lights and sirens blaring.

A pickleball player at the new Rec Center said, "I was across the street from the hospital and saw three emergency vehicles leave with sirens and lights on full blast. And I thought why not just have the first driver do it? The noise was deafening."

The retired paramedic said, "In Orange County, we had a tiered response system. We'd get a call that a person had a broken wrist. For that a Code 1 response is appropriate - No lights, No sirens. Because I'm sensitive to the noise of sirens, at night I'm woken 7 out of 10 times by the sound of a siren. Why? There's no traffic."

"Silver City is Siren City," said a massage therapist standing outside the Tranquill Buzz Coffee Shop. "Can anything be done about this?"

Yes, the usage of sirens can be reduced often by 50%. Other hospitals and municipalities use a TIERED RESPONSE SYSTEM so that every call out does not require lights and sirens.

Code 1 – Routine Response
No lights or sirens.
Broken bones from the elbow to hand or knee to foot with no head trauma.
Minor cuts or lacerations such as slicing hand while cutting a bagel.
Ambulance obeys all traffic laws.

Code 2 – Urgent (No Siren / Lights Optional)
Abdominal pain and back pain with mild distress. Problems with hips or shoulders.
Lights may be used for safety, but sirens are often avoided unless necessary.

Code 3 – Emergency Response
Difficulty breathing, chest pain, and acting abnormally or not alert.
Full lights and sirens

Sirens here in Silver City have been an ongoing problem. At one point a community group was formed to look into the issue. What their recommendations were would be of great interest to the Beat. The Grant County Beat can be contacted This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Sirens can also pose a health hazard to ambulance personnel. One study tested 192 randomly selected EMS providers from Houston, TX. The hours of siren noise exposure correlated with decreased ability to sense mid-frequency and high-frequency sound. The rate of hearing loss was 150% of that expected for age-matched individuals who were not exposed to siren noise.*

"Our first responders here in Silver City do a wonderful job and take great risks to save a life. I truly believe that if they use sirens only when necessary, this will help with their safety also," said the retired paramedic.

Next – What the law says.

*Pepe PE, Jerger J, Miller RH, Accelerated hearing loss in urban emergency medical services firefighters. Annals Emergency Medicine.