7/16/2019 Brochure Warning

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/brochure-warning 1/2

       

     

Tornado Watch - Conditions are favor-

able for a tornado. Listen to your localradio or television station for further de-tails. Be prepared to move to your safeplace.

Tornado Warning - Issued when a tor-nado has been sighted within or is emi-

nent for Franklin County. Move to yoursafe place immediately when a Tor-nado Warning has been issued.

It’s against the law to tamper with ordamage a siren (ORC 5502.37C). Any-

one caught tampering with a siren willbe prosecuted and penalized accord-

ingly (ORC 5502.99), Section C.

To report a siren that is not operating

properly please notify us at :

(614) 469-9700

Weekdays8:00am - 5:00pm

WARNING

Emergency ManagementAgency for Franklin County

 Areas to go to:

Areas to stay away from:

 Designated place of safety.

 The innermost and lowest possible

floor.

 Take cover under something sturdy.

 Auditoruims, cafeterias, elevators and  gymnasiums.

 Moblie homes and automoblies.

If caught outside:

 Lie flat in a low lying area and make

  yourself as small as possible.

Remember:

The OUTDOOR WARNING SIRENS

are intended  to be heard ONLY OUT-DOORS. When it looks like bad

weather is approaching, monitor yourlocal radio or televison for currentweather information. It is also a good

idea to get a tone activated batterybackup weather radio.

7/16/2019 Brochure Warning

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/brochure-warning 2/2

The Franklin County Outdoor Siren WarningSystem is one of the largest and most reliableoperational systems in Ohio, and the UnitedStates. There are still many areas across thecountry that has no means to warn residents ofdanger.

The Emergency Management Agency forFranklin County (EMAFC) is responsible for themanagement and activation of the entire system.Each community owns the sirens within itsboundaries, and contracts with EMAFC for operationand support.

The Franklin County Outdoor Siren WarningSystem has been in operation since the 1940’s.The sirens were used originally to call in volunteerfirefighters, and in the 1950’s to warn the publicof a possible nuclear attack. Today the sirensare used primarily to warn of tornados andevacuations within the county.

The most common types of sirens in FranklinCounty are the WSP3000/4000.These units are

directional radio tone controlled with voice

capability. Both sirenshave a coverage radius of

approximately one mile.Currently Franklin Countyhas 134 sirens, and new

sirens are being added to

the system continuously.

In the past all sirens had to be set off at onetime; activation of an individual siren was impossible.Today however, the radio tone controlled sirenscan be activated for a specific area in thecounty. These sirens also have internal testmechanisms, which send back information to ouroffice indicating if the siren activated properly.

This new system allows us to identify defectivesirens, which translates into quicker repairs,which means less down time.

The sirens can be activated from three locationsin the county. Each of these sites conducts theWednesday test at least once a month. This ensuresthat each activation site is functioning properly.

Our agency recently installed a new computeraided siren activation system. This new equipmentallows us to better control and monitors the sirens.We now have the capability to project via computerimage onto a large screen all the sirens in thecounty or isolate certain ones for individual testing.

 

The outdoor warning sirens are sounded onlywhen the National Weather Service issues   aTornado Warning for Franklin County.

Once the Tornado Warning has been issued,the sirens will activate for 3 minutes, shut offfor 7 minutes during which time a voiceannouncement will be issued:

“Tornado Warning Seek Shelter”

This warning is repeated as the siren is positionedin all four major directions. This sequence is

continued for as long as the warning remains ineffect. Once the warning has expired, a secondvoice message will be announced:

“ Tornado Warning Has Expired”

Although the sirens stop sounding and the warningexpires it does not mean that the danger haspassed. Heavy rains, hail, lightning, and highwinds accompany most tornados.Theseweather conditions can be just as dangerousas a tornado. Stay inside until you hear on theradio or television that the severe weather has

passed.

The outdoor warning sirens are tested everyWednesday at noon, weather permitting. Thesirens are not tested during potential badweather to avoid confusion. During this testthe sirens are sounded twice for approximately1 minute. On the first Wednesday of everymonth, the voice capability is also tested. Firstthere is tone activation, and then the following

  message is broadcast in all four directions:

“ Testing Franklin County Sirens Testing “

3/03