The Campbell County Outdoor Warning Sirens will only be sound-tested annually, the county’s Office of Emergency Management announced.
The annual sound tests will take place during the annual Kentucky statewide tornado drill.
They will no longer be sounded on the first Wednesday of each month.
The change takes effect in March.
During the annual drill, all sirens will be sounded at full volume for five minutes, and will be widely advertised, the office said.
While there will no longer be sounded monthly tests, there will be silent tests conducted each morning.
Campbell County Emergency Management Director William Ray Turner said that the change follows a recommendation from Federal Signal, which makes the sirens. He also said that testing the sirens, particularly the ones that rotate, in cold weather causes damage. Thirdly, because they are silently tested every morning at 8 o’clock, the monthly sound test is not necessary, he said.
“We also feel setting off the sirens clearly causes some people great anxiety when they don’t hear them or for some when they do hear them,” Turner said. “We also expect that if people don’t hear them every month when they do hear them maybe they will pause and think, ‘Why am I hearing a siren and will seek shelter’.”
-Staff report
