Pennsylvania Firefighters Sue Over Hearing Loss From Sirens

April 24, 2013

Four Pittsburgh firefighters are suing seven companies that manufacture fire trucks or sirens, claiming they’ve lost hearing due to the blaring sirens.

The firefighters range in age from 38 to 62 and joined the city’s fire bureau between 1975 and 2000.

They’re claiming that Mack Trucks Inc., Seagrave Fire Apparatus LLC and five other firms “knew or should have known the products … were inherently dangerous, defective and hazardous to human hearing.”

The men claim they’ve suffered irreversible hearing loss “due to exposure to the intense noise.”

The firefighters are seeking unspecified monetary damages and are not suing the city.

They contend the manufacturers should have insulated the sirens to protect their hearing and/or provided warnings about their use.