Federal Signal wins siren lawsuit

OAK BROOK -- Federal Signal Corp., the maker of fire engines and safety equipment, said an Illinois state jury ruled the company wasn't liable for the hearing loss that 27 Chicago firefighters blamed on its sirens. In the first case of a series to come to trial, the jury deliberated less than two hours to reach its verdict, Oak Brook-based Federal Signal said Friday in a statement. Since 2003, more than 2,400 firefighters from Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia have sued the company in separate cases claiming it failed to warn of the noise danger.