Firefighters sue over excessive noise from sirens (more)

Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:

For 38 years, George Beary worked as a firefighter in Chicago, constantly exposed to the loud wails of emergency sirens while riding on the back of fire trucks. After retiring in 2005, Beary, who now serves as the chairman of a committee for retired Chicago firefighters, has struggled with tinnitus — a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears.

Beary, who previously served as vice president of the Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2, is one of approximately 4,400 current and former firefighters across the U.S. who are suing Federal Signal, an Oak Brook-based company that produces sirens. They claim the company failed to make its products safer for those working on fire trucks. Since 1999, Beary and around 700 other Chicago firefighters have filed lawsuits. While some have been settled or ruled upon, about 500 cases remain active.

Firefighters argue that Federal Signal could have designed sirens to direct sound away from where firefighters sit, protecting them from dangerously high noise levels — sometimes reaching 120 decibels, similar to a live rock concert. However, Federal Signal maintains that directing sound would undermine the siren's primary purpose: to alert drivers and pedestrians of an approaching emergency vehicle. The company also points out that it has long recommended the use of ear protection for firefighters.

David Duffy, an attorney representing Federal Signal, claims that studies show the average noise exposure for firefighters during their shifts — including siren use — is below 85 decibels, which is considered safe under federal guidelines. However, critics argue that these standards were developed for traditional office or factory environments, not for the unpredictable and intense conditions faced by firefighters.

The lawsuits, which began gaining attention over a decade ago, have been filed in cities like New York, Philadelphia, Boston, New Jersey, and the Chicago area, according to attorney Marc Bern, who is overseeing all of them. In SEC filings, Federal Signal notes that juries have mostly ruled in its favor in the half-dozen cases that have gone to trial. The company has also reached settlements in some cases without admitting fault. One of the largest settlements, in 2011, involved paying $3.6 million to 1,069 firefighters in Philadelphia.

Experts like Rick Neitzel, a researcher at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, point out that current noise regulations are based on continuous exposure in industrial settings, not the intermittent but intense noise that firefighters face. This discrepancy raises concerns about whether existing safety measures truly protect those in the field.

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