Tue Jun 30, 2020 6:07 pm
The old Maricopa County, Arizona Civil Defense siren system mostly consisted of 1950’s era Federal Enterprises Thunderbolt 2000’s and dual head rotating H.O.R. Si-Rex sirens. There were some 1960’s era Thunderbolt 1000’s in there and a few dual tone 1000T’s. There was also a few other odd balls in the mix. At some point all of the Thunderbolt 2000’s had their gasoline engines removed and the blower frames fitted to accept electric motors supplied by Federal.
Almost all of the Maricopa County, Arizona Civil Defense sirens have been removed. There is one that I know of still standing on the roof of the Maricopa County Superior Court building in downtown Phoenix. It has been rumored that there is still a Thunderbolt at one of the Phoenix Fire Department stations. There was also one that I personally removed from Monte Vista Elementary School in Phoenix. My avatar picture is of it when it was still installed. So, there may still be a chance of a few treasures standing here and there.
The Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management had almost the entire system removed and in storage since the mid 90’s I believe. About six years ago they put them up for auction. I have two from that auction in my possession. One Federal Thunderbolt and one H.O.R. Si-Rex. Most of the Federal Thunderbolts were purchased by businesses that just wanted to part them out for the blowers. My understanding was that they were using them on large vacuum trucks.
I do have pictures of the sirens in storage and also at the auction if you are interested.
Justin
Owner of a Federal Electric Model 2, Federal Sign and Signal SD-10, Federal Sign and Signal 1000(T) and a H.O.R. Si-Rex 7:10 Omnidirectional