Tornado Sirens to be Tested in Jefferson County Today

BROOKVILLE, Pa. (EYT) – Three communities in Jefferson County will participate in a statewide weather emergency test on March 26 at 9:15 a.m., according to a Jefferson County Emergency Services press release.

(PHOTO: The Weather Emergency Siren in Snyder Township.)

Brockway, Brookville, and Punxsutawney will be activating tornado sirens during this time.

In the release, Director of Emergency Services Tracy Zents said this was a good time for the community to review emergency response plans.

“From the 9-1-1 center, we will activate those sirens to test the system, but to also inject severe weather messages to those agencies that will be participating,” Zentz said in the release, meaning schools, businesses, hospitals, and more.

“It will give us an opportunity to test our response plans as well as work with other agencies within the county to help them prepare for weather-related emergencies.”

In Brockway, the emergency weather siren in Snyder Township, on the hill just outside of town heading toward Brookville, will emit a steady signal for two minutes. A fire siren goes up and down when it blows.

“We participate in the statewide weather exercise twice a year,” explained Brockway Volunteer Fire Department President Terry Fustine. “It not only gives us a chance to test our sirens but also our emergency operations plan.”

Fustine said that residents will always be notified about a drill. If the fire department has to test a siren without notification, they will get the information out on the fire department website or the radio as soon as they can.

However, Fustine said everyone must be prepared for a real emergency.

“When it is not a drill, residents should take cover, check for information on their TVs, radios, and if they have fire/police scanners, turn them on,” he said. “This is probably one of the times that social media will help us, and residents can go there for information. There might be a time where we do not have time to notify the residents and upon hearing the siren, they should take safety measures and at least take cover.”

The weather sirens in Brockway are at the fire station and in Snyder Township. The siren in Snyder Township was free and installed last year.

“We had an actual tornado go through Snyder Township last August,” Fustine said. “We had another warning that night, and we activated both alarms. We also activated both weather sirens in September of last year when we had a tornado warning that was issued by the National Weather Service.”

Fustine added that residents initially question the second weather siren, but after the events in August in September, they now want one in the Crenshaw area.

The siren can be activated by the fire department and the Jefferson County 9-1-1 Center. In this drill, the sirens will be tested, and the Emergency Operations Center in Jefferson County will be activated as if it were a real emergency. The National Weather Service will send a severe weather warning exercise message to every county in Pennsylvania to kick off the test.


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