CARTHAGE, Mo. —
City officials said they were happy with the results after sounding new storm-warning sirens for the first time Thursday.
Siren installation was completed Monday, and it took crews through Wednesday to finish connecting the computer hardware and software that will control the system, said Tom Short, city administrator.
Mayor Mike Harris joined Short and fire Chief Chris Thompson in the inaugural test.
“They worked as planned; everything went flawlessly,” Thompson said.
The new sirens replace a system that includes some equipment that has been in use for nearly 60 years. The cost of the new system, about $176,000, will be paid with revenues from a quarter-cent fire safety sales tax passed by Carthage voters in November.
The city system previously included 11 sirens. The new system has eight sirens; some were moved to different locations to provide improved coverage, Thompson said.
Short said workers were stationed throughout the city Thursday to check how well the sirens covered the community.
“We were at the fire station, and we could hear them making loops — one to the north and one to the south,” Short said. “And one firemen who lives on Fir Road three miles out of town could hear it.”
Several residents also called the city from different parts of town after they heard the sirens sounding, he said.
The new system is capable of silent testing, via computer, and the city eventually will phase out audible tests in favor of a silent testing system.
“First, we want people to get used to hearing these,” Short said. “They sound a little different than the old ones, but that was a blended system with old and newer sirens.”
He said the system also allows testing by rotating the siren head, which is something officials plan to do on days when bad weather may be approaching.
Weekly tests
FIRE CHIEF CHRIS THOMPSON said the city, for a time, will continue the regular weekly testing of the new sirens, starting with a test at noon Saturday.
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