Pontoon Beach implements new siren system to boost safety in warehouse district
PONTOON BEACH, Ill — Pontoon Beach residents might notice a new siren system in their area. A new initiative between the city and the warehouse district is bringing new sirens right in front of the buildings.
Warehouses get loud and it can be hard to hear the sirens going off. But city leaders say that’s where the portable sirens can help.
“You’ll be able to hear the tornado sirens sound off inside the warehouse. It is a great program; it’s going to save lives,” said Chief Chris Modrusic of Pontoon Beach Police.
It’s a small machine with big responsibilities. This little machine inside is connected directly to the big sirens outside.
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“That way, they can then announce through their PA system or their internal system what is going on outside, because sometimes when you’re inside a building, it is hard to hear outside,” said Joe Juneau, vice president of Juneau Associates.
This initiative comes after the deadly Amazon warehouse tornado in December 2021. a night that changed operations and procedures for some warehouses and businesses in the area.
“It was devastating and I couldn’t imagine what the families, co-workers, and everybody else went through that night. It was just devastating,” said Chief Modrusic.
Chief Modrusic said the Pontoon Beach mayor immediately began looking for grants and funding to help pay for more sirens in the area.
Juneau is helping install the sirens; he says the new sirens have a mile radius where they can be heard and they can be programmed for other purposes too.
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“The fact that these systems can be anything you know, whether it is a wreck out on 270 or a train derailment or anything, means they can easily be voice activated through the whole system,” said Juneau.
He says the ultimate goal is to save lives. “It is just another level of peace of mind that people can have; if there is a disaster, you want to get the word out as fast as possible.”
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