×

Only a test

County-wide siren test this Friday at 10 a.m.

Times Observer file photo Pictured in this 2007 Times Observer file image is the Pleasant V.F.D. siren. Public Safety Director Ken McKorrison has announced a county wide test of tornado sirens at 10 a.m. this Friday as a first step in going live with the new emergency radio system.

Warren County 911 will test the county’s tornado sirens at 10 a.m. Friday.

The test is a step along the path to going live with the new county emergency radio system.

“We are spinning up new Motorola computers at 911,” Warren County Public Safety Director Ken McCorrison said. “We’re going through our punchlist items to make sure every function within the new computer system functions as intended.”

Those computers are connected to the 911 center’s network, but are not in place in the emergency system.

“We’re doing it in a test environment,” McCorrison said.

They will be incorporated in the system once the punchlist items are complete. “Tornado sirens are the last box to check on our punchlist,” he said.

If all goes as planned, all of the tornado sirens will sound on schedule.

“We’ve been able to activate all of the fire department regular sirens,” he said. “So, in theory, the tornado sirens should work, too. We’re not going on ‘in theory.'”

Any sirens that do not activate will be evaluated and diagnosed. Necessary setting changes or equipment repairs will be made quickly. A follow-up siren test is set for 10 a.m. Monday, if necessary.

Friday’s test will be the first one since maintenance was performed on the City of Warren siren. In April, the siren went off, but failed to rotate. McCorrison said he expects that siren to operate correctly.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today