Test of $9.7M Sirens Too Loud for Shoppers

Tornado sirens went off Monday 11 a.m. as planned throughout St. Louis County as part of a systemwide test.

The new sirens proved substantially louder than the old. The new sirens are solar-powered and composed of 10 speakers stacked one on top of the other. The old ones date from the 1960s and are a horn rotating mechanically on a pole, using commercial power.

During Monday's blast, people entering Ace Hardware near Lamp & Lantern Village in Chesterfield were wincing from the high, high volume. Those already inside Ace winced from the increased volume when the store's double doors opened for customers, and shoppers moved far into the store during the test—which seemed to last several minutes.

Ace shoppers had to holler above the sirens, complaining and questioning the volume and purpose. 

The county recently overhauled its network of sirens at a cost of $7.5 million, and all but two of 185 have been installed, said David Barney, executive director for the St. Louis County Emergency Communications Commission.

“This is a program that could very well literally save lives,” County Executive Charlie Dooley said in a written statement prior to the test.

The new emergency system expands service to western and southern parts of the county that didn't previously have sirens. It can also be used to make voice announcements to a select part of the county when, for example, a "boil water" alert is issued.

The system is controlled from two locations, one in  and the other in Chesterfield. 

Voters approved an emergency communications sales tax in 2009 to fund the siren upgrade, according to a county news release.

The county's older, mechanical sirens were prone to breaking.

Most of the sirens that made up the old network will be taken down by the end of the year, Barney said.

Those interested in finding sirens in their ZIP code may go to St. Louis County's website. It shows locations of the newly installed sirens, Barney said. Monday's test included only newly-installed sirens.

Editor Jean Whitney added to this brief.