Locations of Decatur’s New Tornado Sirens
December 11, 2009 | 4:14 pmThere’s already been some discussion of this on-going installation in the Free-For-All Friday comments, but here’s a bit more detail about the location of these new, city-run tornado sirens. From the Decatur Minute…
There is a siren for each quadrant of the City. In addition to the one located on Agnes Scott’s campus, the others are located at Westchester, Oakhurst Elementary, Winnona Park Elementary, and Glennwood Academy. In the event that the National Weather Services issues a tornado warning for the Decatur area, the Decatur Police Communications Center will sound the siren for three to five minutes per issued warning. During the sounding, the siren head will rotate.
The City will conduct a test of the system at 3 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month.
The installed siren system was designed for the ability to alert each quadrant of the City in the event that the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning for Decatur. The pole locations were selected based on planning for the need to service the equipment and for the solar power that is used to recharge the batteries for the system. The siren heads will rotate when activated and will not be focused in one particular direction.
Instead of the first wednesday of each month they should make it 5pm the first Friday of each month….now there’s a 5 o’clock wistle!
Then you could have a 5 oclock toast in all the bars with the siren!
That would be AWESOME! It’d be the EMS testing and the siren-call-to-arms for the pubs, all at once. Bars could offer two-for-one specials on “Siren Fridays”…way to kill two birds with one stone!
But its a five o’clock world when the whistle blows
No one owns a piece of my time
And there’s a five o’clock me inside my clothes
Thinking that the world looks fine, yea
I like Land’s idea!
Fabulous! Now my 5th grader’s acute tornado siren anxiety can accompany her on her way home from school at exactly 3 p.m.!
Now, to be serious, why 3 p.m..? This is when our kids are walking or riding bikes or buses home from school. Aren’t they all going to freak out because they’re not in a safe place? Even though we can’t orchestrate when a real tornado will strike, shouldn’t we pair the testing of the system with a “drill” at the schools or at home where they can practice? Since the window when they’re walking/riding home from school is just a fraction of their day, which is mostly spent at home or at school?
Or am I overthinking this?
My daughter has tornado siren anxiety too. Like a dog, she can hear the (?old?) Agnes Scott siren when no one else can even if the dishwasher, TV, music, and washing machine are all going at once. You’ve got to give the schools credit–the kids know exactly how to respond to a tornado warning! Maybe the schools could explain about tests on the first Wednesday of the month.
oh good lord, i agree! my little jr. FEMA director will be freaking out and looking for her helmet and headlamp and a basement to go to. there’s got to be a better time than that! friday at 5 sounds better.
Communicate your concerns to the Asst City Mgr for Emergency Services tony.parker@decaturga.com
thanks steve i will
done, and i referenced this blog so maybe he’ll look on here and see i’m not the only person who wonders whether 3pm is the best time
Emily, you are overthinking this….education is the key.
Everyone else quit whining. These are for your protection in a tornado warning. You whine when you don’t know, then you whine when the City gives you a way to be notified. So which is it?
Exactly, this never happens in Kansas.
This city’s anti-tornado bias sickens me.
Yeah! I’m Decaturfobic.
Three pm is NOT a good time, because YES the kids will be upset and confused about what to do and where to go, especially if it’s raining that day. Also, verbal communications to the kids during the time the sirens are going off are going to be difficult, and everyone is going to be distracted by them. Why not NOON? Or 5 p.m. (I like that one especially…)
Communicate your concerns to the Asst City Mgr for Emergency Services tony.parker@decaturga.com
This isn’t a huge deal… but I agree with the majority here. 3:00 is not a good time for everyone in Decatur to be distracted. There are kids milling in and out of the schools and across car pool lines… riding their bikes and walking across busy intersections… We have folks in cars who don’t live in Decatur who will be very distracted b/c they won’t know what’s going on… .
Distracted kids coming home from school plus distracted drivers.. not a good combination.
I’m sure it’s very easy to change this to another time – I like Friday at 5:00 personally… kids are home from school (mostly)… everyone wants and excuse to get out of the office!
– but maybe the test doesn’t involve a full blown alarm. Maybe it’s a silent test. Let’s find out what a test involves first.
I agree about the 3pm Wednesday deal. My daughter is still at school running around. Of course, you are right, if it is a “silent” test no biggie.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the idea of Friday at 5pm!
What about 6 am Monday morning? That would be a grand way to start the week.
I like the idea of 5:00 if it yells, “Yabba Dabba Doo.”
Or have it play the Simpsons theme song.
It’s a five o’clock world when the whistle blows, and no one owns a piece of my time…
Can anyone name the artists?
I believe that The Vogues already posted above.
Oh. That explains that curious feeling of deja vu I’ve had since posting.
It also reinforces my wish that DM allows us all to remain anonymous.
As suggested I contacted the City on Saturday with my concern about kids being out of school when they test. I got a friendly and prompt response back this morning.
“Our original ideal time to test the siren system was a noon the first Wednesday of the month as this was the day and time that the old DeKalb civil defense siren was tested. I asked for input from the Decatur School System and Agnes Scott College concerning their preference. I had hoped that the school system would use the test as part of their drill program. The input I received was that they would prefer that the test take place after school was let out. As we move forward in finalizing the procedures for the operation of the siren system, your concerns will be taken into consideration. ”
Tony Parker
Assistant City Manager
Emergency Services
City of Decatur
509 N. McDonough St.
P.O. Box 220
Decatur, Ga. 30031
678-553-6570