Why all the noise?

Last week our community suffered a great loss with the fire at the Fairgrounds. I’m sure there will be many questions asked about the event, but one I think I have an answer for. Our city is equipped with two sirens, one located at the old Fire Station and the other in the City Park.

During normal operations they will sound for one cycle at noon each day. In the event of an emergency we have the ability to cycle these sirens for two minutes. This alerts all our emergency service personnel to report to their assigned stations.

We do have radios that alert us, but in some cases all our volunteers might not be near one. I can assure you that this is not something that we do for every call, only when it is an event when we need all hands to respond.

I would ask that when this does occur that you not call the Sheriff’s Office to ask what is going on. The dispatchers are already overloaded answering incoming calls for the event, dispatching equipment, and communicating with responding equipment.

As a citizen you should stay indoors and if the event concerns you and your family’s safety, you will by contacted and told when and if you need to be moved to a secured location.

We live in a relatively safe area, not prone to severe weather or other life changing events. One thing that we all can do is be prepared. I suggest that you go the FEMA website and there you will find information on how to prepare for and plan to care for your family in the event of an emergency.

As a note of interest we are always looking for persons who would like to volunteer service to our community, either in Fire/Rescue or EMS. So, contact any of our members for more information.