Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (1)
County seeks grants for tornado-warning system
A countywide tornado warning program could be implemented by the fall.According to Department of Fire and Emergency Services Chief Philip Myer, the program would be based upon one developed for the Town of Warrenton in 2003. The town's plan called for the Warrenton Volunteer Fire Department's aerial siren to be activated in the event of an impending threat, such as a tornado.
In a recent letter to Warrenton Volunteer Fire Chief Scott Taylor and Maj. Lou Battle of the Warrenton Police Department, Myer said the town's program proved to be "very successful."
Further assessment has shown that aerial sirens and NOAA Weather All Hazards Alert radios are the most effective means of alerting people about imminent tornadoes, he added.
Consequently, Myer said the Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association agreed to stop using fire sirens for fire and EMS calls so all sirens can be used for tornado warnings.
"This will require a countywide public education initiative and replacing a few sirens," Myer said. "Remington is the highest priority for a new siren, based on history."
A grant has already been submitted to fund three sirens and a public education campaign.
"Regardless of the grant outcome, I hope to have the countywide tornado warning program implemented by early September where a weekly test of the sirens will be at noon each Saturday," Myer said.
In the meantime, the Warrenton siren-alerting program is in effect. The siren will be used to alert residents in the event of severe storms and other potentially life-threatening emergencies.
The siren will be tested every Saturday at noon beginning Aug. 2 Initially the notice of the testing will be posted on Adelphia Cable Channel 3 and announced on WTOP (103.5 FM). The announcements regarding the tests will also be posted on the town and county Web sites.
If residents hear the warning siren at any other time, they should immediately seek shelter and tune into area radio or television stations for further information.
Seeking shelter means going indoors away from windows and moving to the lowest floor, in a small room such as a bathroom.
"Hearing the siren will mean there is a tornado warning — meaning a tornado or storm cell exhibiting tornadic conditions are at or near the Warrenton area," Myer said. "The immediate dangers usually pass between 15 and 30 minutes. However, second and subsequent storm cells may approach [the area]."
In that case, the siren would be set off again, Myer said.
E-mail the reporter: abogdanovic@timespapers.com
I wrote an opinion piece a few years back regarding the siren in Marshall. The response to my article was disappointing to say the least. Many of my neighbor's responses were mean spirited, and unjustifiably painted me as someone who does not appreciate our wonderful first responders, and in the end did not address the real issue... these sirens are better used for this exact purpose. I must say, I feel somewhat vindicated now that the new storm warning system is being put in place. I hope this will apply county wide and not just Warrenton. If not, I would respectfully suggest that this should be a priority. If the radios still do not have the coverage they should, then we as citizens need to pony up and get our firefighters the equipment they need.
It would be a terrible shame if a tornado came through Marshall in the middle of the night, killed some of our neighbors because they had no warning, and then after the damage was done, the siren stared to wail.
Bravo to the ones who are finally getting this done, it will give the good people of Fauquier the early warning system they deserve.
Rob Pulliam
Rattlesnake Mountain
Posted by rpulliam
Report Offensive Content
You must be logged in to post a comment.