New siren added to system

The city upgraded its emergency alert warning system last week.

The city recently purchased a new 10-cell omni-directional 400 watt driver designed exclusively for the outdoor warning with an estimated 6,100 feet of coverage. It’s said the sound will be able to reach more than a mile out from where it is located.

City employees hoisted the new siren onto a pole near the fire station late last week. They removed the old siren and relocated it on the edge of town where it’s coverage will serve areas where more centrally-located sirens cannot reach.

The purchase of the new siren is part of a multi-year plan to replace the older sirens with newer ones.

“The Public Works office can plot out a map and that helps to see where we can put the sirens to get more coverage,” said Dan Duncan, emergency management director. The current system includes 13 sirens. They are used to alert citizens of potential dangers such as tornado warnings in St. Francois County, and for public service announcements such as Amber® alerts for missing children.

With the new siren downtown, the older siren will find a new home near the corner of Dawn and Hawthorn Streets.

The warning system for Farmington is tested every Monday at noon, depending on weather conditions or maintenance checks that are performed twice annually.

If a siren should malfunction during a test, residents are asked to contact Emergency Management Director Dan Duncan at 218-2755.