Before Friday, there were several nonuniform policies around the county that authorized tornado sirens to be activated only when in a designated storm area, or a weather box. Those boxes often included parts of neighborhoods and streets.
“This was our primary reason why we went with a countywide tornado policy,” Galloway said.
The policy dictates how the 90 sirens — each owned by the respective jurisdictions — would be activated for a tornado warning. And since only tornado warnings will result in the sirens’ activation, Fairfield Twp. Fire Chief David Downie said there’s now no confusion.
“I think it’s something that we needed,” said Downie, who is on the committee that formed the policy. “We’re all on the same sheet of music.”
Downie and Galloway said when sirens in Butler County sound - except when they are tested at noon on the first Wednesday of each month - people need to seek shelter immediately.
It took a year for Galloway to travel to each community pitching the policy. While West Chester Twp. was the only one not to adopt the policy, trustee President Catherine Stoker had said it’s likely the township’s sirens will go off when the rest of the county’s sirens do.
The policy dictates only the National Weather Service, a certified weather spotter, or a police, fire or EMA official may authorize the activation of the sirens.
Galloway and Downie noted the sirens are not designed to be heard from the inside, which is why they also stressed Wednesday that residents purchase a NOAA weather radio, which retails for about $30.
There was no costs associated with developing the countywide plan. However, Galloway anticipates receiving 59 recycled tornado sirens from Hamilton County to install in areas that aren’t covered, mostly in the western and northern parts of the county. Each siren’s sound has about a mile and a half radius.
Grants from Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency are being sought to pay for those sirens, he said.
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