Elsmore storm siren now online

By

News

October 8, 2015 - 12:00 AM

ELSMORE — Gone are the days when sounding the local storm siren meant dispatching somebody to the Elsmore fire barn to manually sound the alarm.
Thanks in part to a collaborative effort with the city of Elsmore, Allen County’s 911 communications center and Thrive Allen County, Elsmore now is dialed into the county’s storm warning network.
“This is much, much appreciated,” said Vera Isaacs, Elsmore city clerk. “We’ve needed to do this for years.”
Crews installed the necessary software and equipment Monday to tie Elsmore’s siren into the county system. The siren went online Tuesday.
The impetus for upgrading the alert system stemmed from a phone call in May to 911 communications director Angela Murphy.
Murphy began investigating the means to tie Elsmore into the system.
Her research coincided with Thrive’s countywide community conversation in early August, in which several Elsmore residents spelled out local improvements they’d like to see.
An upgraded storm alert system was at the top of the list.
A $3,500 Thrive grant, and assistance from the county, allowed for the purchase and installation of the equipment at the base of the siren, at the intersection of Second and Main streets.
“$3,500 may not sound like much, but it is for Elsmore,” Isaacs said.
Now, city leaders plan to huddle in the coming days to decide when and how often to test the siren.
“We want to make sure it still works,” Isaacs said. “I know Iola does theirs once a week, and other places do theirs at noon each day.”
Dick Fewins, Isaacs’ husband, assisted crews as they added the electronics.
“They told us our siren was a small one, but it’s a good one,” Fewins said.
The siren is loud enough to be heard in all corners of Elsmore, and beyond.
Fewins heard from a resident who lives several miles east of town — near the Bourbon County State Fishing Lake — who heard the siren when it was tested.
Adding Elsmore to the alert system means all eight communities in Allen County have storm sirens that can be triggered remotely.
All but Moran are tied into the county alert system. Moran’s siren, meanwhile, is activated via radio from local officials.
“This change brings with it a much-needed sense of security for Allen County citizens in the southeast part of the county,” Murphy said. “It provides a layer of readiness and awareness when preparing for a storm.”

Related
August 14, 2023
July 3, 2019
April 22, 2018
April 17, 2012