The first sirens were steam-powered pipes used on steamships, which could create loud enough alarm sounds because traditional bells were no longer loud enough to overpower the noise of the engines. For many centuries, storm bells or alarm bells were used as an alarm sounds to warn village and city dwellers from fires and attacking barbarians.Īfter the Industrialisation, the ambient noise of a mechanised society necessitated a new kind of alarm system. This technique is still being used today, except that plate bells and forged bells have been replaced with cast bells. These so-called plate bells were hung from shelves so that their distinctive sound could be heard from far away.

The use of bells to create alarm sounds goes back all the way to the Egyptians and the time of the Pharaos. As we can see, systems and sirens to create alarm sounds have been part of our society since the dawn of mankind. Instruments like trumpets and trombones are derived from these early horns. After the discovery of various metals, people began to manufacture signal horns for military use. Even in the Stone Age, drums and animal horns were used to spread messages far and wide. The necessity for alarm sounds to inform or warn members of a society is not a recent invention.

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