Press release
Approved by the Athens City Council in April, work is now complete on system-wide improvements to the City’s Emergency Outdoor Warning System. Through the competitive bidding process, the City selected Federal Signal Corporation to update the City’s aged warning system with the objective of providing reliable and effective emergency notification to citizens.
The City’s previous system had four notification stations that were over two decades old. Due to their age, these systems consistently failed or were in need of costly repairs in order to function. Contracted at $173,634, Federal Signal Corporation’s proposal provided a savings to the City of $54,366 by preserving three existing poles and siren mounts, which are in compliance and were first installed in 2011. All other emergency notification stations received new sirens, hardware, poles, and mounts.
There are eight systems total located in the city and all eight systems are now in activation readiness. During the process of improving the emergency notification system, a new location was added at Live Oak Street & Highway 31 West in order to provide better coverage to the City’s western boundary. The emergency outdoor warning system locations include:
- Live Oak Street and Highway 31 West
- West Scott Street and Magnolia Street
- North Needmore Street and Edmonson Avenue
- Owent Street and Old Town Alley
- Belmont Drive and Fairway Drive
- Industrial Drive at Highway 31 East
- Airport Road
- Farm to Market Road 2495 and Farm to Market Road 2892
The new outdoor warning system will be operated by a computer monitoring system and will use technology that displays and quickly troubleshoots failures. With this system, the Athens Fire Department will have the availability to change the tones, the length of audible signals, activation of selected sirens, and other features, allowing the City to provide a fast and sufficient warning to the public.
Please be advised that the Outdoor Emergency Warning System will be tested the first Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. The sirens will rotate and sound an audible warning for 90-seconds during each test. Monthly tests will begin this coming Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 10 a.m.
In addition to the monthly 90-second tests, there will be a weekly “growl” test that will occur each Saturday at noon beginning Saturday, Nov. 4. A growl test is an abbreviated 30-second test of the Outdoor Emergency Warning System that allows the system to self-monitor each siren as well as help free the siren hardware from the nesting of any birds, bees, etc. This test will also allow the City to check for any system failures.
“It is imperative for the community that the public understand that the Outdoor Emergency Warning System is deisgned to alert people who are outside of the home,” said Fire Chief and the City’s Emergency Management Specialist John McQueary. “Although many residences and businesses will be able to hear the siren system from inside of their homes and offices, there are many factors that can keep people who are inside a structure from hearing the warning. These factors could include weather noise, work noise, sleep, and other factors.”
Please mark your calendar for this coming Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 10 a.m. for the first of the monthly 90-second tests. Because the sirens have not been tested in some time, this test could come as a surprise to some. Please help the City of Athens by spreading the word and alerting residents that this will indeed be a test. In the case of inclement weather, the City of Athens will reschedule this first test date and notify the public of a new testing day.
For questions regarding the implementation of the new Emergency Outdoor Warning System or the testing schedule, please contact City Hall at 903-675-5131 or e-mail [email protected].