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Old and New Sirens to Undergo Testing

1 DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AVE INVERNESS, FLORIDA 34450-4994 PHONE 352 726-4488

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 9, 2007

For more information, contact:
Gail A. Tierney
(352) 726-4488, Ext. 311

Old and New Sirens to Undergo Testing

The Citrus County Sheriffs Office is in the process of upgrading the emergency warning
sirens.
Next week and for the next four Fridays, Citrus Countys old and brand-new siren warning
systems will undergo extensive testing in the countys coastal communities as well as in
southwestern Levy County. To ensure an eventual, seamless transition to the 40 new siren units,
the weekly tests will evaluate all 80 units on March 16, 23 and 30, and April 6.
The sirens are tested every Friday (except on holidays) at 12 noon. A siren test typically
lasts for 15 to 30 seconds, and no action on the part of the public is required in these instances.
Because both systems, totaling 80 units, will be tested simultaneously over the next four weeks,
the audio level may seem unusually high to those living or working nearby.

From Tuesday, March 13, through Saturday, March 17, the siren vendor will be in Citrus and
Levy to sound the new sirens individually and in groups for very short bursts. The units public
address capability also will be tested
.
These tests will be conducted during daylight hours.

The first combined weekly test scheduled for Friday, March 16, at the normal noontime hour,
will be of longer duration. The old siren system will stop after about 15 seconds, however, the
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1 DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AVE. INVERNESS, FLORIDA 34450-4994 PHONE 352 726-4488

new sirens will continue

for a full three minutes, just like a real alert. Because the 80 units will be
tested at the same time, audible levels are expected to be louder and longer than usual.
For the remaining three Friday noontime tests, all 80 of the sirens will sound for the standard
15 to 30 seconds.
Should the area ever experience hazardous weather, an event at the Crystal River Nuclear
Plant or any emergency that threatens life or property, the sirens will sound continuously for 3 to 5
minutes, letting citizens know that officials have important information to disseminate. In
response, citizens should tune their televisions or radios to one of the Emergency Alert System
(EAS) stations for the latest information from emergency management officials. If protective
actions are necessary, citizens will be provided with these instructions as well.
The new siren warning system was in the discussion phase as early as November 2005, but
was only recently installed. Through a cooperative effort by Progress Energy and the Sheriffs
Office Emergency Management Section, 40 new state-of-the-art sirens were positioned to replace
the existing units. Twenty-eight sirens were placed in Citrus County, with the remaining 12 sirens
installed in Levy County. While Progress Energy funded the purchase of all 40 sirens, plus their
maintenance costs, for close to $1 million, the Citrus County Sheriffs Office actually owns and
oversees the new system.
The new sirens located west of U.S. Highway 19

are erected on concrete poles to increase
their stability. Some wooden poles are still being utilized in less threatened areas. All of the
sirens, however, have a wider coverage area.
The existing siren units were installed in 1993, following the No-Name Storm. The control
system for the sirens, however, is 1980s vintage. This time, all 40 sirens, in addition to the control
system, were replaced to further enhance reliability.
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1 DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AVE. INVERNESS, FLORIDA 34450-4994 PHONE 352 726-4488

Its expected that the old units will be removed starting in April.
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