EMA adding sirens, studying coverage to identify gaps

Jan. 28—Daviess County Emergency Management is adding new tornado sirens to the county, and is studying the county for areas of siren coverage.

Andy Ball, Daviess Emergency Management Agency director, said Friday the agency also recently received a generator that will be used to power a disaster shelter, either in the city or county, in the event of a disaster that knocks out power service.

There are currently 57 storm and tornado sirens in Daviess County. The sirens, which were designed to be heard outdoors, have a coverage area of either one-mile, or three-quarters of the mile inside city limits.

Ball said the county is currently soliciting for bids to install two sirens. One of the sirens will replace an existing siren on Thruston-Dermont Road, while the second is new, and will cover the Timber Trail area. Timber Tail is off Newbolt Road near Windridge Country Club.

"We are doing siren surveys over the next couple of years, looking at primary areas," Ball said.

Emergency Management uses mapping provided by the city's geographic information systems department to determine the coverage ares of warning sirens in the city and county.

"I do a study every year," Ball said. "Especially with the (Kentucky) 54 corridor; I don't want to miss something out there."

Ball said plans to install additional sirens will be included in the EMA budget, which will be presented to Daviess Fiscal Court. Ball said the department has had a goal of installing two new sirens annually, either in new areas or as replacements.

Ball said, in the future, he would like to place a siren near Southern Oaks Elementary School and Whitesville Elementary. Warning sirens can be heard faintly outside those schools, but both are outside the one-mile radius of the nearest siren, Ball said.

Weather sirens are not intended to be heard indoors, Ball said. People should have an all-hazard weather radio to alert them while they are indoors, he said.

"The inside piece is the NOAA all-weather radio," Ball said.

Next week, the EMA will be testing a 75 Kilowatt generator large enough to power an emergency shelter in case of disaster that takes down power. Ball said the Fiscal Court received the generator through a Federal Emergency Management grant that paid 75% of the cost. The remaining 25% was matched by the county and the state.

Fiscal Court also paid to install generator hookups at SS. Joseph & Paul Catholic Church Parish Hall on Fourth Street, and at Heritage Baptist Church on Thruston Dermont Road.

During the ice storm of 2009, emergency shelters operated, even though there was no power, Ball said.

"They were sheltering people, but there was no heat," Ball said.

Now, the county would be able to operate one shelter, either in the city or county, capable of being heated, Ball said.