(no subject)
In light of the tornadoes that hit near hear recently, I found this article about Longmont's longstanding "tornado warning system" (and I use this term loosely) very entertaining and annoyingly typical of Longmont.
http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=9128
City siren test hit and miss
Messages couldn’t be heard in some areas of Longmont
By Pierrette J. Shields
Longmont Times-Call
LONGMONT - Listeners posted throughout the city during Monday morning’s test of the Emergency Outdoor Warning System heard garbled messages from several of the city’s loudspeakers, and two of the warning sirens failed to sound.
After a tornado warning broadcast May 22, Longmont residents complained to the Times-Call and to city officials that the sirens were inaudible and the accompanying message was either garbled or in Spanish only.
Three of the 18 sirens around the city failed entirely on the day of the tornado warning, according to city accounts.
During the Monday morning test, Times-Call reporters and editors were stationed around the city to record what could - or could not - be heard. The system is tested at 10 a.m. the first Monday of each month from April until August. Monday’s test was delayed by 15 minutes as city officials worked to clear up a staffing problem. The message reporters and editors heard said, “This is a test of the emergency warning system.”
Here’s what Times-Call staffers reported:
Listeners at U.S. Highway 287 and Colo. Highway 66, and Nelson and Airport roads heard four alert tones and messages broadcast four times each in English and then Spanish.
Listeners at South Main Street and Pike Road, and Fourth Avenue and Coffman Street heard the tones sound four times and the accompanying broadcast four times each in English and Spanish, but portions of the messages were garbled.
Listeners at 17th Avenue and Francis Street; Sixth Avenue and Martin Street; 17th Avenue and Denver Way; and Mountain View Avenue and Pace Street reported hearing various combinations of tones and announcements, but struggled to discern the languages broadcast.
Listeners stationed at 17th Avenue and Meadow Street, and Hover Street and Mountain View Avenue heard nothing from the loudspeakers.
All 10 of the Times-Call listeners waited outside for the test and were specifically listening for tones, announcements and languages.
Dan Eamon, the city of Longmont’s Emergency Services coordinator, said Monday that the sirens do not achieve 100 percent coverage of the city and are not intended to warn people who are indoors. The city may also choose to use an emergency call to homes in the event of extremely localized emergencies.
He said every siren is a signal to seek shelter and look to media accounts for details about the emergency. The broadcast announcement is not intended to provide details about an emergency, he said.
City officials are considering dropping the verbal component of the siren broadcast system because some residents believe the system is intended to include all warning details and are supposed to be audible indoors, he said.
He said two sirens - at North 119th Street and Ken Pratt Boulevard, and Pike Road and Fordham Street - failed to sound during Monday’s test. Another siren near the Ute Creek Golf Course that failed during the tornado warning on May 22 has been repaired and did work during the test, Eamon said.
Eamon said he doesn’t know why the Times-Call listener at Hover Street and Mountain View Avenue could not hear the warnings, because a siren in the immediate area did work. Still, he said all sorts of outdoor noise can make it harder to hear the warnings.
“To get 100 percent coverage is not realistic,” Eamon said, adding that weather, trains and traffic are among sounds that could drown out sirens. “It is not possible for us to notify everybody in every situation they are going to be in during the day.”
The sirens can be programmed to broadcast warnings for any type of emergency, but Eamon said they are now programmed for a tornado warning, a “generic” emergency message, a flood warning, a test message and an all-clear message.
During tests and actual warnings, the sirens broadcast their message, rotate 90 degrees and repeat the message. They are supposed to sound an alarm or test tones and broadcast in each English and Spanish, four times. A speaker pointed away from a listener is difficult to hear.
Eamon said tests are typically monitored by the system’s computer software, but the city stationed listeners at as many of the sirens as possible Monday morning. However, a fire was reported just before Monday’s test, and fire personnel stationed at four sirens left before the system was tested.
Pierrette J. Shields can be reached at 303-684-5273 or pshields@times-call.com
Times-Call staffers Rachel Carter, Kacia Munshaw, Charlie Angelo, John Fryar, Pam Mellskog, Rob Spencer, Travis Pryor, Melanie Sidwell and Jenn Ooton contributed to this report.
Comments Click here if you'd like to post a comment on this story.
Please read the TimesCall.com policy on comments. What happened to the good old fashioned sirens that blasted like there was an air raid going on and rotated 360 degrees (not just broadcasting at 90 degree increments)? In OH when those went off you knew to go inside and try to get more info. The Longmont system? I heard it (though couldn't understand the spoken stuff), and thought it sounded like the DIA tram was announcing a stop at concourse B. Too cutesy!
Longmont 6/3/2008 5:09:00 PM I grew up in central Illinois and we ALWAYS heard the sirens, indoors or outdoors. How in the world can the emergency manager say the city can't be 100% covered. It's ok to just cover 75%, 80%? Those remaining few people just don't amount to that much anyways? Someone needs to take off his blinders or can him!
Longmont 6/3/2008 4:34:38 PM Eamon needs to do a better job and not make excuses. The train can easily be heard at 66/Pace, why can't the tornado warnings. Eamon did a terrible job and needs to take responsibility to improve his management of the tornado warning system!!!!!!!!!!! Is this what the All American City is regarding accountability?
Longmont 6/3/2008 10:05:45 AM I have never heard a tornado warning test or actual siren at 17th/Hamm Park! Clearly the Nort/East part of town tornado system does not work.
longmont 6/3/2008 10:02:16 AM I am just wondering if these would perform as well during a storm? If a tornado is close and the winds are howling along with hail... how do we know we are still going to hear them? Is that taken into consideration?
Longmont 6/3/2008 8:37:27 AM I say stop the garbled recording. Here's a tip if you hear an alert siren that keeps going, take cover.
Lonogmont 6/3/2008 8:32:56 AM So, if the sirens aren't designed to be heard indoors, where smart people go when the sirens ARE heard, then how are you supposed to hear in "ALL CLEAR" signal? Growing up in KS, the sirens were designed to be heard indoors - both the warning and the all clear. That's how we knew about the middle-of-the-night tornados. I can't imagine what would have happened had we not been able to hear the sirens while we were sleeping...
Longmont 6/3/2008 8:20:06 AM At the City Council meeting, the usbject of the tornado warnings system fiasco came up and it was almost laughable. When the Manger was asked about the three stations not working, he mentioned the parts were on back order for a long time. The City does not keep critical spare parts or the City does not negotiate just in time purchasing agreements with venders to keep critical parts in stocks? What good is a tornado warning system if you cannot hear the alarm. Then council talked about all citizens were confused by the alarm tone, inaudible verbal commands, and some alarms not having power despite solar back up. The manager said DAH? How can loads of money be spent and then the system tested and when needed have so many problems? It is clear council, mayor, city staff were a failure on this subject and look like clowns telling the manager "a great job!". It is clear the city has too many layers of management where the buck stops no where and have a tornado alarm system that failed get a "great job!".
Longmont 6/3/2008 7:59:31 AM I live at 8 Elizabeth Ct and did not hear a thing. I was out side most of the day with my grandkids.
Longmont 6/3/2008 8:00:26 AM I like the idea of no recordings since you can't understand them anyway. How about the siren for a warning and then a nice tone that means all clear?
Longmont 6/3/2008 7:46:42 AM
http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=9128
City siren test hit and miss
Messages couldn’t be heard in some areas of Longmont
By Pierrette J. Shields
Longmont Times-Call
LONGMONT - Listeners posted throughout the city during Monday morning’s test of the Emergency Outdoor Warning System heard garbled messages from several of the city’s loudspeakers, and two of the warning sirens failed to sound.
After a tornado warning broadcast May 22, Longmont residents complained to the Times-Call and to city officials that the sirens were inaudible and the accompanying message was either garbled or in Spanish only.
Three of the 18 sirens around the city failed entirely on the day of the tornado warning, according to city accounts.
During the Monday morning test, Times-Call reporters and editors were stationed around the city to record what could - or could not - be heard. The system is tested at 10 a.m. the first Monday of each month from April until August. Monday’s test was delayed by 15 minutes as city officials worked to clear up a staffing problem. The message reporters and editors heard said, “This is a test of the emergency warning system.”
Here’s what Times-Call staffers reported:
Listeners at U.S. Highway 287 and Colo. Highway 66, and Nelson and Airport roads heard four alert tones and messages broadcast four times each in English and then Spanish.
Listeners at South Main Street and Pike Road, and Fourth Avenue and Coffman Street heard the tones sound four times and the accompanying broadcast four times each in English and Spanish, but portions of the messages were garbled.
Listeners at 17th Avenue and Francis Street; Sixth Avenue and Martin Street; 17th Avenue and Denver Way; and Mountain View Avenue and Pace Street reported hearing various combinations of tones and announcements, but struggled to discern the languages broadcast.
Listeners stationed at 17th Avenue and Meadow Street, and Hover Street and Mountain View Avenue heard nothing from the loudspeakers.
All 10 of the Times-Call listeners waited outside for the test and were specifically listening for tones, announcements and languages.
Dan Eamon, the city of Longmont’s Emergency Services coordinator, said Monday that the sirens do not achieve 100 percent coverage of the city and are not intended to warn people who are indoors. The city may also choose to use an emergency call to homes in the event of extremely localized emergencies.
He said every siren is a signal to seek shelter and look to media accounts for details about the emergency. The broadcast announcement is not intended to provide details about an emergency, he said.
City officials are considering dropping the verbal component of the siren broadcast system because some residents believe the system is intended to include all warning details and are supposed to be audible indoors, he said.
He said two sirens - at North 119th Street and Ken Pratt Boulevard, and Pike Road and Fordham Street - failed to sound during Monday’s test. Another siren near the Ute Creek Golf Course that failed during the tornado warning on May 22 has been repaired and did work during the test, Eamon said.
Eamon said he doesn’t know why the Times-Call listener at Hover Street and Mountain View Avenue could not hear the warnings, because a siren in the immediate area did work. Still, he said all sorts of outdoor noise can make it harder to hear the warnings.
“To get 100 percent coverage is not realistic,” Eamon said, adding that weather, trains and traffic are among sounds that could drown out sirens. “It is not possible for us to notify everybody in every situation they are going to be in during the day.”
The sirens can be programmed to broadcast warnings for any type of emergency, but Eamon said they are now programmed for a tornado warning, a “generic” emergency message, a flood warning, a test message and an all-clear message.
During tests and actual warnings, the sirens broadcast their message, rotate 90 degrees and repeat the message. They are supposed to sound an alarm or test tones and broadcast in each English and Spanish, four times. A speaker pointed away from a listener is difficult to hear.
Eamon said tests are typically monitored by the system’s computer software, but the city stationed listeners at as many of the sirens as possible Monday morning. However, a fire was reported just before Monday’s test, and fire personnel stationed at four sirens left before the system was tested.
Pierrette J. Shields can be reached at 303-684-5273 or pshields@times-call.com
Times-Call staffers Rachel Carter, Kacia Munshaw, Charlie Angelo, John Fryar, Pam Mellskog, Rob Spencer, Travis Pryor, Melanie Sidwell and Jenn Ooton contributed to this report.
Comments Click here if you'd like to post a comment on this story.
Please read the TimesCall.com policy on comments. What happened to the good old fashioned sirens that blasted like there was an air raid going on and rotated 360 degrees (not just broadcasting at 90 degree increments)? In OH when those went off you knew to go inside and try to get more info. The Longmont system? I heard it (though couldn't understand the spoken stuff), and thought it sounded like the DIA tram was announcing a stop at concourse B. Too cutesy!
Longmont 6/3/2008 5:09:00 PM I grew up in central Illinois and we ALWAYS heard the sirens, indoors or outdoors. How in the world can the emergency manager say the city can't be 100% covered. It's ok to just cover 75%, 80%? Those remaining few people just don't amount to that much anyways? Someone needs to take off his blinders or can him!
Longmont 6/3/2008 4:34:38 PM Eamon needs to do a better job and not make excuses. The train can easily be heard at 66/Pace, why can't the tornado warnings. Eamon did a terrible job and needs to take responsibility to improve his management of the tornado warning system!!!!!!!!!!! Is this what the All American City is regarding accountability?
Longmont 6/3/2008 10:05:45 AM I have never heard a tornado warning test or actual siren at 17th/Hamm Park! Clearly the Nort/East part of town tornado system does not work.
longmont 6/3/2008 10:02:16 AM I am just wondering if these would perform as well during a storm? If a tornado is close and the winds are howling along with hail... how do we know we are still going to hear them? Is that taken into consideration?
Longmont 6/3/2008 8:37:27 AM I say stop the garbled recording. Here's a tip if you hear an alert siren that keeps going, take cover.
Lonogmont 6/3/2008 8:32:56 AM So, if the sirens aren't designed to be heard indoors, where smart people go when the sirens ARE heard, then how are you supposed to hear in "ALL CLEAR" signal? Growing up in KS, the sirens were designed to be heard indoors - both the warning and the all clear. That's how we knew about the middle-of-the-night tornados. I can't imagine what would have happened had we not been able to hear the sirens while we were sleeping...
Longmont 6/3/2008 8:20:06 AM At the City Council meeting, the usbject of the tornado warnings system fiasco came up and it was almost laughable. When the Manger was asked about the three stations not working, he mentioned the parts were on back order for a long time. The City does not keep critical spare parts or the City does not negotiate just in time purchasing agreements with venders to keep critical parts in stocks? What good is a tornado warning system if you cannot hear the alarm. Then council talked about all citizens were confused by the alarm tone, inaudible verbal commands, and some alarms not having power despite solar back up. The manager said DAH? How can loads of money be spent and then the system tested and when needed have so many problems? It is clear council, mayor, city staff were a failure on this subject and look like clowns telling the manager "a great job!". It is clear the city has too many layers of management where the buck stops no where and have a tornado alarm system that failed get a "great job!".
Longmont 6/3/2008 7:59:31 AM I live at 8 Elizabeth Ct and did not hear a thing. I was out side most of the day with my grandkids.
Longmont 6/3/2008 8:00:26 AM I like the idea of no recordings since you can't understand them anyway. How about the siren for a warning and then a nice tone that means all clear?
Longmont 6/3/2008 7:46:42 AM