Weather Warning Sirens. That sound should plunge a listener into action to take cover for one’s life. Within the last month or so, there have been two siren warnings that discharged unnecessarily.
The first was about 8:15 on a beautiful morning, so most people took it as a test or accidental discharge, which was correct. The community is well aware of the weekly Monday, Wednesday, and Friday test siren at noon, all operated by 911. Then, about 1 a.m. Christmas morning, several heard a siren again. Maybe Santa accidentally set that one off. There is no clear history with the old system of what happened.
The “human element” of receiving the storm information, deciding if it affects our area, and then pushing the button takes some time.
Fire Chief Marc Lowery is very excited about the new system. “We’ve been looking into this because our system is so old, we can’t get replacement parts anymore. We are very grateful the City Council approved the funding for the new system, especially since the siren at the intersections of Union Road and Main Street completely stopped working.”
The Council approved the first phase of the project, which costs approximately $56,000. The second and third phases depend on whether the Council approves the funding for the next phases.
“The first phase includes replacing the control system and one siren. We decided to replace the Union Road/Main Street siren since it was failing, and parts are obsolete. We plan to get two more sirens replaced with the second phase in 2025 and two more with the third phase in 2026. Of course, plans can change, or those old sirens could fail. But that’s our current plan for now,” Lowery said. Then, the next phase allowed us to get the computer system for the office. We plan to get two more sirens replaced in 2025 and two more in 2026. Of course, plans can change, or those old sirens could fail. But that’s our current plan for now,” Lowery said.
Lowery demonstrated the new system doesn’t have to be monitored at all. “It can be programmed to respond to notifications from NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) for straight winds and potential tornados. Both are dangerous, and citizens must know to take cover and seek protection. It will only notify the sirens in the city limits of affected areas. A warning issued for the other side of the county will not set off city sirens.”
The company, Table Rock Alerting System, is nearby and can monitor the equipment from a distance. Several redundancies are also built into the system if one part fails. If all systems fail, a human can override them.
Another positive aspect of the new system is that hospitals, schools, or anyone who wants to spend money on a receiver can receive the information instantly through our system.
NWA is a government-operated radio system that provides weather warnings and other hazard information. The NWR also works with the Federal Communication Commission’s Emergency Alert System.
Citizens must be aware of storm potential and local radar conditions during turbulent weather.
“Outdoor sirens were never meant to be a means to warn people inside their homes,” Lowery said. “Some hear them, and some never hear them inside their home. The city plans to incorporate a program called Code Red after the first of the year, which alerts residents on their cell phones. This system will only be used for emergencies. We have the TextMyGov system, where citizens can be warned of street closures, and residents can let the city know about potholes, downed power lines, and other issues. The Code Red system will strictly be used for emergencies. We will let the public know when to opt in or sign up for that system.”
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