# Do the fire alarm sounders really need to be this damn loud? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 26, 2011, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-fire-alarm-sounders-really-need-to-be-this-damn-loud/597639 "2011-09-26T07:39:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-fire-alarm-sounders-really-need-to-be-this-damn-loud/597639/21 "2016-05-29T06:21:18Z")
By regulation, they must be able to wake the dead. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-fire-alarm-sounders-really-need-to-be-this-damn-loud/597639/22 "2016-05-30T01:14:28Z")
On a related note, why exactly do adults have to engage in fire drills? I understand teaching children that when the loud noises start you go outside, but after mastering that by age 5, why continue with the drills? Don’t they just de-sensitize people to the alarms and make them LESS likely to rush out in an emergency? When I worked in a hospital they never had fire drills because that would freak out the patients, and the one time something caught on fire everyone evacuated as fast as possible in a very impressive way. When I worked at a corporation they had fire drills several times a year and people basically learned to ignore the alarms. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-fire-alarm-sounders-really-need-to-be-this-damn-loud/597639/23 "2016-05-30T16:19:41Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > On a related note, why exactly do adults have to engage in fire drills?.. Maybe because many many adults have perished in past fires due to panic situations? And those who write fire regulations want to do everything in their power to prevent these disasters from EVER happening again. Note: It is the general public [you] who demands that “something must be done” to prevent these things from happening again (each time they occur). The authorities are just doing as suggested! [http://www.nfpa.org/research/reports-and-statistics/fires-in-the-us/multiple-death-fires/catastrophic-multiple-death-fires](http://www.nfpa.org/research/reports-and-statistics/fires-in-the-us/multiple-death-fires/catastrophic-multiple-death-fires) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-fire-alarm-sounders-really-need-to-be-this-damn-loud/597639/24 "2016-05-30T16:49:47Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > Maybe because many many adults have perished in past fires due to panic situations? > > And those who write fire regulations want to do everything in their power to prevent these disasters from EVER happening again. > > Note: It is the general public [you] who demands that “something must be done” to prevent these things from happening again (each time they occur). The authorities are just doing as suggested! > > [http://www.nfpa.org/research/reports-and-statistics/fires-in-the-us/multiple-death-fires/catastrophic-multiple-death-fires](http://www.nfpa.org/research/reports-and-statistics/fires-in-the-us/multiple-death-fires/catastrophic-multiple-death-fires) Yes, but nothing you said addresses the need to damage someone’s hearing in the process. [Here’s a story](http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/student-newspaper-blows-the-horn-on-loud-school-fire-alarms/article_d5e93b43-1e5a-5ef6-a9c6-a0f515dd3e4a.html) addressing the issue using a bit of common sense from some high school students. The short version. A student found that the sirens were so loud they triggered a migraine headache. Upon measuring the levels it was discovered the sirens were set too high. There is no reason for a siren to be so loud as to cause discomfort. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-fire-alarm-sounders-really-need-to-be-this-damn-loud/597639.md?page=1)