The sounds coming from the Mass alert system today are getting a bit ridiculous (11:30 - 11:50 a.m.).
At times you get the full uninterrupted blast, then something that sounds like someone is toying with the pitch, fade, and volume settings.
Hard to take that too seriously, but as a good citizen, I went to the Borough Web site for news and information and learned all about the Halloween Parade.
If you didn't already know - there is a boil water advisory.
And speaking of which, I now hear a voice coming from a microphone announcing the water boil advisory wafting through my open window from a passing police car.
I realize this is a good test of the emergency system, but it appears there are still a few issues relating to the siren and posting of information.
13 comments:
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE SIREN! IT ACTUALLY WENT OFF DUE THE WATER ADVISORY WITHIN THE BOROUGH AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. I AM GLAD YOU WENT TO THE BOROUGH WEBSITE TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS HAPPENING. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IT WENT OFF FOR SOMETHING OTHER THAN A FIRE CALL. PLEASE REMEMBER, THE SIREN IS SET TO GO OFF FOR FIRE CALLS BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 6AM AND 11PM. ANY OTHER TIME IT GOES OFF AND WITH A DIFFERENT TONE OTHER THAN THE FIRE TONE, IT IS AN EMERGENCY THAT OUT CITIZENS SHOULD BE AWARE OF. THIS CAN BE ACTIVATED 24 HOURS A DAY AT ANY TIME.
CARL STRYE, JR.
PRESIDENT
NAZARETH VIGILANCE HOSE COMPANY NO. 1
Why don't we have a reverse 911 system in place for these emergencies. I know of other communities that have them and it seems like a really good idea.
I would be willing to bet that the majority of residents have a telephone and answering machine so they could easily be notified of whats happening.
But for some reason we have loud horn that we need to distinguish which tones mean what. I'm a bit confused by it.
And what do the elderly or anybody that does not have internet access do? I guess they would be left in the dark ( or just drinking contaminated water )
Not me,
The type of system you are talking about is used by the school district. I received an automated phone call with all the details as well as an email. It has been very effective in quickly communicating information be it this water issue, snow days or our every favorite bomb scares last year.
Point it, in a single shot, lots of people can be informed quickly from a single source instead of trying to figure out the different sirens then having to go to the web site.
The siren did go off several times, the long single blast indicating something other than fire. Each time the siren is triggered it signals three times.
There was also a signal that started and stopped and I'd not heard it before. This happened at least twice.
Setting it off one time, alright, but around 11:30 and again after noon it went multiple times over a ten minute period.
I also received two phone calls, one from the water company and one from the school district.
The announcement wafted in from the police car driving up and down the streets as well.
And that doesn't even include the over half-dozen emails I got from readers alerting me of it to post.
Seems the simple solution is grab an RSS feed to NewsOverCoffee and you won't miss anything;-)
I just don't understand why the fire company has placed such importance on this siren when there are much more effective ways to get the message out.
This alarm goes off so much that it's just becoming background noise and I barely pay attention to it anymore. It's actually more annoying than anything.
It think it might be nice if boroughs could do the mass email like the school does. Then let us be neighborly and alert our neighbors who don't have email access. I may be upper Nazareth but am closer to the siren in Nazareth than some who live in the borough. I too just think of it as back round noise. Upper Nazareth did have any special siren or any driving around with announcement to my knowledge.
Is there a special "all is clear" signal we should listen for.
I think the borough and water authority did a good job. There was a telephone message, the siren, it was posted on multiple news sites, and the police even went around and anounced it through the loudspeaker. Not to mention that my company (all the way over in Jersey) sent out an e-mail to everyone because they know so many people live in the county. Plus NOC and Bernie's site listed. I think it was very thorough.
But one of the better places to post the info would be on the Fire house message board.... NOPE not there. This is one of the most visible things in Nazareth, EVERYONE reads it but NO message about the issued advisory.
WHY???
I'd like to make several points. First, I never received a call from the Water Company so the "Emergency Siren" was the only notification I had that there was something wrong in the Borough. Secondly, the mayor and borough council were the ones who implemented this "Emergency Notification" system. I, too, agree that residents without internet access are left in the dark and that a reverse 911 system would be more effective. And lastly, I don't feel it is the Fire Department's responsibility to notify people that they must boil their water. Yes, that sign is a great way to notify people, but only certain volunteers have access to it. Our town council needs to evaluate their emergency notification system and determine a better method.
Any why would it NOT be the responsibility of EVERY PUBLIC OFFICIAL, DEPARTMENT, etc. to assure that ALL the residents of Nazareth and surrounding communities are aware of any and all emergancies, warnings, etc. We are talking about a "public service" Not "it's not MY job...." It's EVERYONES responsibility!
One thing everyone should keep in mind, that this (to my knowledge) was the first real use of the emergency system and plan.
When emergency plans are developed, they are just that, plans, and no one knows how well they will really work until the real thing happens. Look at Katrina and Rita and the differences seen with Gustav and Ike.
The point is, they system actually worked to a very large degree. what should happen next is the town leaders review what happened, what worked and what didn't and revise the plan accordingly.
You can practice the plan over and over, but those are controlled and have little stress involved. Thank god this was a minor "event" in that lives weren't threatened and we can use this as a learning experience to be better prepared if a true disaster ever occurs.
Yes I agree that the response this time to the incident was better than the last incident. But putting info on all public places, websites, doors to post office, boro office, fire dept sign, etc. should be common sense. These are places that the public passes or looks at in time of need. Perhaps we need to publish an "emergancy response" info booklet with all the places to look when there is a problem. The police driving and announcing was well warranted but also that should have been a little slower, perhaps with lights ON and announced more often. I was witness to the "drive buys" and they could/should have been slower and the officers should have been announcing the info more than once a block or so.
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