Before the tornado struck on the night of Sunday, April 14, emergency sirens all over Warren County were activated.

The sirens are intended to reach people who are outside without the electronic devices that so readily bring timely information about emergencies.

There were no injuries reported from that weather event.

But, there was at least one problem with the siren system.

The emergency siren in Warren, high atop the Flat Iron Building, worked, but it did not rotate. It pointed north throughout.

“The intent is to reach people who are outside,” Public Safety Director Ken McCorrison said. “It would reach more people if it did rotate.”

“I do see a value in having a siren that functions properly,” he said.

The Local Emergency Planning Committee considered options for bringing that siren to full functionality.

One member asked who owns the siren.

It was put up by through the Office of Civil Defense in the 1940s. That agency is defunct.

Members expressed concern that the LEPC might help fund a project on a siren when volunteer fire departments all over the county have to pick up the costs for their sirens.

The other sirens in the county are used by fire departments. Public alert — as in the case of weather emergencies — is only part of their functions.

The City of Warren Fire Department does not rely on a siren, McCorrison said.

“The sole purpose of it is public alert,” he said.

In the past, the county has paid for some repairs to the siren, he said. United Refining Company has performed some of the maintenance.

The members asked McCorrison to investigate further and bring price information back for the next meeting.