The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

Sirens Were Alarming

by Shirley Linder, Quill Editor

15 March 2006

No one is complaining, but it has been a long time since Stronghurst residents have heard sirens ring as a storm warning.

Therefore, when they sounded Sunday evening many residents were unsure what was happening.

John Carrier, head of Emergency Management Services for Henderson County makes the determination as to when the sirens should be sounded.

Carrier works at the Henderson County Sheriff's office, keeping a close eye on the weather and receiving information from other areas.

In the event of bad weather firemen are paged to become weather spotters. Many firemen have taken classes for weather spotting and will go out to keep their eye on the sky when bad weather is eminent.

Not only were firemen out in Stronghurst Sunday evening, but firemen were also on watch out in all the surrounding towns as the storms continued to roll through the area.

Several firemen watched the sky from their homes, to keep us as safe as possible.

The MST firemen kept in touch with the firestation where Curt Eisenmayer and Chris Cook were manning the phones and radios.

So the next time you hear the siren ring for 2 minutes and stop for 15 seconds-four times in a row, you know it is time to take shelter.

You are advised to go to the basement or somewhere in your home where there are no windows.

When it is deemed safe and the immediate danger is out of the area, an all clear siren will sound again.

The all clear consists of four short rings, on for 20 seconds and off for 10 seconds.

This is one more way the volunteer firemen serve their communities.