Report of fire siren used as “sunset town” warning in Vermilion
FirefighterNation Staff
VERMILION, Ohio — After a Black Lives Matter march in Vermilion on June 6, Mayor Jim Forthofer was told by a group that they were concerned about the fire sirens at the fire house and city hall.
The group told Mayor Forthofer that there was concern that the fire siren was used in the past as a warning for black people to leave the town at sundown, according to WJW FOX 8.
Carey Hillman told FOX 8 that when he was in high school some of the teachers had said the sire was used to warn minorities to leave by sunset.
Some residents also told FOX 8 they grew up believing that Vermilion was a “sunset town.”
Mayor Forthofer reached out to a local historian and longtime residents and found no evidence of the siren being used for anything other than to alert firefighters.
“Certainly, there is racism in Vermilion, as there is in just about any town, and the case against racial injustice is absolutely worthwhile pursuing. But our siren really does not play in it,” Forthofer told FOX 8.
