5:00 Whistle

When I was a kid I lived in a small town that had a volunteer fire department. The fire chief was paid (I think) and there was a fire station where the fire engine stayed.

Any time there was a fire, a loud whistle that could be heard all over town would sound from the fire house. It used a distinct pattern for every section of town. I think that was so the fire fighters would know where to go to fight the fire. Maybe the volunteers met the truck there, but I’m not sure about that. 

The volunteers, who were strong, healthy men, would all have had regular, local day jobs, which allowed them to leave whenever a fire happened.

Perhaps the men met at the firehouse and the whistle was just to warn the neighbors, but most of us didn’t know the sound pattern for our neighborhoods so that doesn’t make sense.

But there’s one thing I am sure of:

That whistle went off every day at exactly 5:00 p.m. as a test to be sure it was working.

And all the kids in town, who were playing outside with adult supervision, knew when they heard that 5:00 whistle they had to stop playing and go home.