Warren County is planning a test of its all hazards siren system on March 5 at 11 a.m.
The all hazards sirens, commonly referred to as tornado sirens, can be utilized by the 911 Center to alert residents to an array of imminent threats. The test is part of a state-wide hazardous weather drill.
Residents throughout Warren County as well as individuals in the Tionesta and West Hickory areas of Forest County (where Warren County provides 911 dispatch services) can expect to hear the sirens.
Public Safety Director Ken McCorrison said that the county’s municipalities decide whether or not to have such a siren. Warren County is responsible for all of the equipment from the 911 Center up to the device on-site that triggers the siren.
While the sirens are often called “tornado sirens,” they provide more alerting capability than just tornadoes. They’re best considered “all hazard sirens.”
A maintenance window will be kept upon until 3 p.m on March 5 for any sirens that do not sound when activated at 11 a.m. McCorrison said typically there are one or two sirens that don’t sound due to some minor issues that can be resolved.
“Residents may hear subsequent activations,” he added.
While this is just a test, the state weather exercise affords an opportunity for individuals, emergency response leaders and organizations to review how they would respond in the event of an actual activation.
McCorrison’s advice? “Get to a trusted source of media. Be aware of your surroundings and wait for further instructions.”
Entities including Warren County, the Warren County School District and United Refining Company, Warren General Hospital and some of the county’s skilled nursing facilities are participating in the March 5 exercise.
McCorrison said the organizations will work a theoretical series of storm watches and warnings.
“It’s a self-evaluation tool,” he said. “What do watches or warnings mean to us and our organization? How can we mitigate risk moving forward.”
Any organization interested in participating in the test should reach out to McCorrison at kmccorrison@warrencountypa.gov.
“This is good preparedness prior to spring weather season to make sure this system functions,” McCorrison said.