Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Some of the sirens couldn't be heard outdoors during last week's storms.
Last Tuesday’s late-night storms gave St. Louis County tornado sirens a live test—just weeks after a system-wide test of the new sirens—but it appears that they didn't all operate as intended. David "Duff" Barney, with St. Louis County Emergency Communications Commission, announced this morning that individual sirens will be retested later this week. “We got calls from folks who said they couldn’t hear the sirens outdoors,” Barney said. “We’re just checking to make sure the sirens are operating according to the manufacturers' specifications.” Barney said he received no complaints that the sirens were too loud. The sirens were tested earlier this month, as a system, then selectively the following week. The tests are scheduled for Wednesday…
Monday, January 9, 2012
The county is putting some sirens through follow up tests due to feedback from residents.
St. Louis County has announced it will re-test 18 of its new tornado sirens during the week of Jan. 9-13. The one-minute tests will be performed between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. On Monday, Jan. 2, all 185 of the sirens in the new system were tested. Each of the 18 sirens to be tested this week generated calls from residents saying they were unable to hear the sirens; under the old system, they could hear them. Callers reported the same issues after the Labor Day test in 2011. Where are the sirens? The sirens in question are scattered across St. Louis County. The county's announcement didn't say which sirens would be tested starting Monday. Its website has a map that shows all 185 sirens in the system. “We need to ensure that the 18 sirens …
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
New sirens are part of a county-wide emergency warning system.
Did you hear the St. Louis County emergency siren system test Monday? The county is in the process of switching from the old system of sirens to the new, and Monday morning at 11:00 the new, but not the old sirens went off. They’re tested every first Monday of the month. According to the St Louis County Office of Emergency Management, chances are the siren you heard was louder than what you've heard in the past. With the new system, 185 sirens are replacing 210 old sirens, but county Emergency Communications Network Director David Barney said many of the old sirens were installed in the 1960s and 70s and are defective. Also, no sirens were placed in the far west and far south parts of the county. "These new sirens are more effective," he …
