david_hayes•18d agoOG Member

That time the town siren went off at midnight for no reason

I live in a tiny town in Kansas, and last Tuesday our tornado siren went off at 12:15 AM. No storm, no weather alert, nothing on the news. I called the non-emergency line and the dispatcher said it was a 'test error' from the new guy at the volunteer fire department. Three other neighbors showed up in my driveway in their bathrobes asking if I knew what was going on. Has anyone else's town done something like this with their emergency systems?

2 comments

2 Comments

thomas.cameron18d ago

My town's siren went off at 3pm on a clear Sunday for a volunteer firefighter's birthday prank.

the_robin18d agoMost Upvoted

Wrote my local fire chief directly after our siren went off at 2am for a false alarm tied to a house party. Told him flat out that pranks make people ignore real emergencies. He actually listened and got the volunteer crew to sign a policy against unauthorized siren use. Took one email and a follow up phone call. Nobody's messed with it since because the chief started fining folks who abused it. Might be worth talking to your town council or fire department leadership directly if the volunteers wont police themselves.