Snoqualmie siren sings swan song

Published 9:41 am Thursday, October 2, 2008

It’s been the town’s sentinel, the city’s fire alarm and a communal noon whistle for some five decades.

And last Wednesday, May 9, it blew for the last time.

The former Snoqualmie fire hall, and the siren that’s mounted atop it, will be demolished Monday, May 21, making way for a planned new city hall on the property.

The fire hall was erected in 1955, paid for and built through the volunteer efforts of Snoqualmie residents.

Snoqualmie city staff and firefighters, including Mayor Matt Larson and Fire Chief Bob Rowe, invited members of the original community of volunteers that built the station to celebrate their achievements and listen to the whistle give one last, long, glorious blast before it faded away.

“We thought, we couldn’t tear it down without a final farewell from the people who actually put it up,” Rowe said.

Following the final whistle, the present-day firefighters invited everyone up to the new fire hall to share stories, pictures and a movie made of a lively 1989 fire department Christmas party.

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