At One Place

How loud is a fire truck?

Typical loudness
110–129 dB

A firefighting vehicle carrying a pump, hose and water, or an aerial ladder or platform.

NIDCD puts sirens at 110-129 dBA close to the source.

How that compares

Fire truck against things of a similar loudness.

Fire truck 110–129 dB
Ambulance 110–129 dB
Chainsaw 100–115 dB
Drum kit 95–115 dB
Jackhammer 95–115 dB
Church bell 90–120 dB
Motorcycle 80–110 dB
Blender 80–95 dB

How long you can safely listen

Immediately damaging — hearing protection is required for any exposure.

Decibels are logarithmic, which makes the intuitive arithmetic wrong in a way worth knowing: every 10 dB is ten times the sound energy, and two identical sources together are 3 dB louder than one — not double. So two 70 dB fans are 73 dB, not 140 dB.

Levels are measured at roughly one metre unless stated otherwise. Sound falls off with distance — about 6 dB per doubling — so the same appliance is noticeably quieter across a room than beside your ear.

More about a fire truck

Common questions

How loud is a fire truck?
A fire truck reaches 110–129 dB. NIDCD puts sirens at 110-129 dBA close to the source.

Related pages

Sources

  1. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss — National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (Public domain (US Government))
  2. What Noises Cause Hearing Loss? — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Public domain (US Government))
  3. Occupational Noise Exposure — Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Public domain (US Government))

How these figures are compiled and checked