Post Date:04/22/2024The replacement of the City's outdoor warning system is nearing completion!
The system that's being replaced – which had been in place for decades and included sirens that were over 40 years old – used a manually-activated process that required City Communications Technicians to receive information of a tornado warning via a teletype or email, acknowledge that they had the information and set off ALL of the City's sirens at once from the Communications Center located in the Collinsville Illinois Police Department. Because of their age, replacement parts were no longer available for these sirens and their failure rate was high.
Instead of relying on manual activations, the new siren system uses more advanced technology that’s connected to the National Weather Service’s polygon warning system, which improves accuracy and quality. According to the NOAA and NWS, this allows your local NOAA NWS Weather Forecast Office to "be able to narrow their focus on a portion of a county (or counties) that have the greatest threat for being impacted by severe weather." Once a tornado warning is issued for a polygon-based area, the sirens that are in said area automatically activate – NOT all of the City's sirens. If the siren(s) in your area sound, a tornado or destructive thunderstorm is projected by the NWS to be heading in your direction.
To date, seven sirens in the City's portion of Madison County have been replaced. The remaining five Madison County sirens are expected to be replaced by the end of April. Additionally, all but one of the sirens in the City's portion of St. Clair County have already been replaced – with the lone outdated siren expected to be replaced soon.
The new sirens are solar-powered (which fits well with the City's sustainability efforts) and driven by technology. While the distance the sound carries from a new siren is further than with the legacy system, it's worth noting that the new sirens have a bit of a different sound. It's also important to note that with both the new sirens as well as the ones being replaced, an outdoor warning system is designed to be heard outdoors only. Many times, due to your proximity to a siren, you may hear the siren sounding inside your home or business. That being said, the Collinsville Illinois Fire Department recommends that every home and business has an NOAA Weather Radio for emergency use.
The City also encourages every resident and business in the City of Collinsville to sign-up for emergency and non-emergency notifications as well as weather alerts by registering for CodeRed, which is a service provided at no cost to the user. Registration can be completed at the bottom of the home page on the City's website (www.collinsvilleil.org). If you need help registering, contact the Fire Department's administrative team at Fire Station #1 at 618-346-5022.Return to full list >>
