FORT SMITH, Ark. — On April 24, the Fort Smith Police Department (FSPD) said that all 31 of the city’s emergency response systems are now functional after residents complained of not being able to hear them during testing.
"31 for 31,” Aric Mitchell, Public Information Officer for FSPD said after tests were conducted on April 24. “Things were looking good; Motorola was able to isolate what the problems were on those remaining sirens that we were having concerns about, and it all went perfect."
As the threat of severe weather looms in the coming days, Mitchell said that these sirens still play a very crucial role in getting warnings out early to the public.
"With a community of 89,000 people, it can be crucially lifesaving to folks if they're outdoors," Mitchell said.
City officials, however, want to remind people that sirens are not specifically designed to warn people who are indoors.
"We look at storm tornado sirens more or less as a secondary preparedness alert system,” Deputy Director for Sebastian County Emergency Management Travis Cooper said. “I say a secondary alert system, because we have to make sure that we always focus on how we plan and prepare ourselves."
Cooper said there are other ways people can be notified of severe weather within Sebastian County. The county utilizes cellular options for those looking to get weather warnings directly to their phone.
“We can sign up for a Hyper Reach here in Sebastian County,” Cooper said. “It’s an alert program that will notify you on your mobile device by phone, email, and also text.”
Cooper added that despite new technology being developed to warn people of weather, he said he believes tornado sirens will still be around for the next decade.
Mitchell said the City of Fort Smith conducts tornado siren tests weekly on days where there does not appear to be strong weather. In a press release regarding the successful tests, the Fort Smith Police Department said the continual tests are a “proactive strategy… to safeguard Fort Smith residents, ensuring that the sirens perform effectively at critical times.”
If there are concerns about tornado sirens in Fort Smith, the department instructs residents to call 479-709-5000.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.