Siren Information & Purpose
The Early Warning System sirens have been alerting Valparaiso and Center Township residents for over ten years now. There are 10 sirens altogether with 5 being in the city and 5 in the township. Each siren was strategically placed throughout the city and township so as to do the most good for the most populated areas.
The sirens for the most part are meant for folks that are outdoors and may not be listening to any news media broadcasts. They will provide an early notification to the public that there is approaching bad weather or a chemical spill incident that has just occurred. When the public hears an Early Warning Siren continually sounding, they should immediately go to a place where they can hear news broadcasts of possible life threatening events happening or that are approaching the area such as a storm.
Emergency Activation
During an actual emergency notification alarm, the sirens will sound and rotate for 3 minutes continuous, then 1 minute of silence and then another 3 minute wail. People that are outdoors should move to a safe location and listen to local radio or TV stations for more information. At NO time do the sirens sound for an all clear.
Testing of System
Once each month the Early Warning Sirens are tested by the Porter County Emergency Management Department to make sure they are in working order. The testing is done on the first Tuesday of the month at 11:00 am. They should sound and rotate for up to 30 seconds with a 1 minute pause and then another 30 seconds of wail. Whenever possible the EMA department will send out personnel to random sites to check for correct function.
How You Can Help
Although these sirens are on a maintenance and testing schedule, from time to time they will malfunction. If any siren is close to where you live and during the testing day you did not hear it sound and see rotation, please give us a call. You may report a siren problem with the Porter County Emergency Management at 219.462.8654.