St Louis County to Test New Sirens for First Time on Labor Day at 11 a.m.

St. Louis County will test its new, $7.5 million outdoor warning siren system. The test will last three minutes. 

From both a landmass and population percentage perspective, the network of 185 speakers – each mounted on a 55-foot-high tower - will provide substantially more coverage to St. Louis County residents when a tornado is barreling their way.

“This is a program that could very well literally save lives,” observed St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley. “Much of the old siren system was built in the 1960s, and reached fewer than 90 percent of our residents.

With the new sirens, we have very nearly 100 percent coverage.” 

Because the old system was installed prior to the heavy subdivision build-up of South and West County, thousands of residents in those areas had no siren umbrella.

Ladue Fire Chief Eric Hinson is glad to see new sirens be put into operation.

"Anything new we can do to alert the public of coming storms is a good thing," he said. "Early warning by even a few minutes can make a world of difference," said the Ladue chief.

"Hands down, safety is built into this system of notification," said Olivette's Fire Chief John Bailot. Bailot is a big believer of keeping weather alert radios in the homes. "They are programmable, so you can set these radios just to your community. I think everyone should have a weather radio handy," said Chief Bailot.

The chief was asked of help available for those who are deaf. "The NOA weather radios have attachments that can do things like vibrate a bed. Everyone can be helped by this," he said.

Olivette is looking into a reverse 911 calling system. By that, when storms are in the vicinity, residents would get a telephone call warning of the dangers just ahead.

The system – the installation of which was overseen by the County’s Emergency Communications Commission - was paid for by an emergency communications sales tax approved by voters in 2009.

TBG, Inc. was contractor for the project. 

Other than on test days (at 11 a.m. on the first Monday of every month), the emergency sirens are activated only when the region is under a tornado warning. If the sirens are activated, residents need to immediately seek shelter.

Siren Facts:

• The new sirens have stacked, omni-directional speakers – that resemble large, steel honeycombs – that are more efficient than the older, rotating horn sirens. This allows the new system to cover more land area with fewer sirens.

• All of the new sirens are solar-powered, with integrated storage batteries. As a result, if the power goes out during a severe weather event, the sirens will still be operational.

• The new system has voice announcement (or “public address”) capability, which gives County emergency management officials the ability to issue directions to specific areas – such as “boil water” alerts.