In the event of a tornado, Seymour city officials want people to be able to take shelter in time to prevent injury or loss of life.
To provide better warning coverage, the city is adding two new electronic sirens that will extend the reach of its outdoor warning system past Hangman’s Crossing on the west side and to residents of Mutton Creek on the far east side.
The city currently has five warning sirens.
"Our first siren was installed at fire department Station 1 on East Street in 1987. At the time, it was the only one," Fire Chief Brad Lucas said.
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In 1995, four others were installed. They are located at the overpass on Burkart Boulevard, at Ninth and Ewing streets, near Seymour High School at Second Street and Westgate Road and at Freeman Field at G and Third avenues.
"Since the city has expanded west with annexation, there’s a little gap on the far west side of town where I’ve had some complaints of residents not being able to hear the sirens during a tornado warning," Lucas said. "And we’ve always had a little bit of a gap on the far east side that we’d like to fill in."
With the city’s current sirens, Lucas worries about truck drivers at the truck stop, people at the hotels and Shadowood Golf Course not being able to hear the warning during a storm.
"It will definitely help the interstate area," he said.
The exact locations of the new sirens have not been identified yet, but the one going on the east side will be on North Sandy Creek Drive near the city’s hotels. The one on the west side will be on G Avenue in Freeman Field near the fire department’s training facility.
Although outside city limits, residents of Sycamore Springs Apartments and Pebblebrook subdivision on U.S. 31 also will benefit from the added siren on the east side, Lucas said.
On the west side, there is a siren in Freeman Field, and although it should provide enough coverage, Lucas said that isn’t the case.
"Usually when we have bad weather, it’s coming from (the west), so the wind’s blowing that way and blowing the sound that way," he said.
The Seymour Board of Public Works and Safety voted 3-0 Thursday to spend $70,055 to purchase two new Whelen sirens from Electronic Communication Systems of Bloomington. ECS is the same company that provided Seymour’s existing Whelen sirens.
All of the current sirens were updated in 2014 to "as new" condition at a cost of just more than $52,500 and remain in proper working order, Lucas said.
The two new sirens are being paid for through a capital improvement bond issued by the city council in 2020. Lucas said he expects it could be late spring by the time the sirens are manufactured and installed.
Two other companies, Capitol Electronics and Sentry Siren, also submitted quotes. Lucas said ECS provided the best quote for the sirens the city wants. Although Sentry’s quote at $55,357.96 was cheaper, it was for mechanical sirens, he said.
"That’s not what we are looking for," Lucas said.
The new sirens will be mounted on new poles 40 to 45 feet high and will look different than the current sirens, he said.
"They are round and omni directional, meaning that the sound is transmitted in all directions at all times," he said. "The current sirens are shaped similar to a horn and rotate at the top of the pole. While they can always be heard, the sound is louder depending on the direction of the horn. The new sirens will provide a more uniform sound in all directions."
Another difference between the two are how they receive power.
The current sirens operate from batteries that are kept charged with an electric current. The new sirens are battery-powered, too, but will be charged with solar power, Lucas said.
Although the sirens work, Lucas said it is important for everyone to realize they are designed to alert people while they are outdoors.
"I encourage everyone to use an app on their cellphones or have a weather alert radio to alert them while they are indoors," he said.
Jackson County residents also can sign up for the county’s Everbridge Alert System to receive phone calls, text messages and emails about by logging onto jacksoncounty.in.gov and clicking on the Citizens Alert link at the bottom of the webpage or contacting Jackson County Emergency Management Agency at 812-358-6110.
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Sign up for emergency alerts
Jackson County residents can sign up for the county’s Everbridge Alert System to receive phone calls, text messages and emails about severe weather and other emergency situations by logging onto jacksoncounty.in.gov and clicking on the Citizens Alert link at the bottom of the page or contacting Jackson County Emergency Management Agency at 812-358-6110.
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