Replacement found for warning sirens

Those of us who were around in the 1950s and '60s called them air raid sirens.

The younger generation knows them as tornado warning or severe weather warning sirens.

As they say on the quiz shows: "WRONG!"

Problem is, the warning sirens are not available in all of Georgia's cities and towns.

This became painfully clear in Atlanta, when a tornado blew through downtown in March.

It's also an issue in Augusta, because these warning sirens are no longer in service. Isn't it special that lack of public safety hardware always seems to fall under the broad general term of "budget cuts?"

According to Augusta-Richmond County Fire Chief Howard Willis, the director of the county's Emergency Management Agency, sirens are meant to warn people outdoors that a hazardous situation is either about to occur or has already occurred.

When sirens go off, they should sound a continuous wail for several minutes.

Thankfully, necessity is truly the mother of invention. Chief Willis and his first responders have a really workable Plan B that involves a so-called reverse 911 system.

Within two minutes, every listed phone number in the county will be called, playing a message that notifies whoever answers of the emergency situation and what to do.

At the same time, local radio and TV stations and cable providers are alerted to put the Emergency Broadcast System into action.

Special tones alert viewers and listeners that an important message is about to be heard or seen on a "crawler" at the bottom of the TV screen.

Also, the National Weather Service is alerted and the weather radio alert tones will be activated, with the appropriate message broadcast.

While the official alert sirens are not in operation, Chief Willis reports that in an emergency situation, his fire trucks will pull onto the ramp of each station and their sirens will at least provide some initial warning to residents and businesses in the immediate area.

Highway crashes with tractor-trailer or other trucks, train derailments, industrial plant fires or explosions, plane crashes or maritime emergencies such as may occur in a seaport or on a river with barge traffic all pose the potential for nonweather-related emergencies.

These hazards are another reason why family disaster drills are important, just as they are for schoolchildren.

In Augusta, an even stronger emphasis is placed on the need for weather alert radios in both households and in the workplace.

When an emergency situation arises, quickly taking the correct action can save time and lives.

David Colmans is the executive director of the Georgia Insurance Information Service, a nonprofit trade association of property and casualty insurers in Georgia. Contact him at dcolmans@giis.org or (770) 565-3806.