By City of Chadron Police Department
CHADRON, Neb. - Wednesday evening, there was an overwhelming number of Wildland Fires that started with the passing of a dry thunderstorm through the area. The Dawes County Telecommunications Center set off City of Chadron’s fire sirens as all fire personnel were needed to help, with response to these fires. What was heard was a tone exclusively meant to summon fire personnel to the station.
After setting the siren system off, the Telecommunications Center received numerous phone calls inquiring what was going on and what the sound meant that the sirens were putting out. Learning from this experience, we want to put out some information to assist everyone with identifying certain tones and their meanings.
How Chadron Emergency Sirens Function
Purpose: Alerts first responders and the public, outside of buildings, of an incident taking place
Fire Tone: A continuous, undulating, or high-low wailing sound lasting approx. 30 seconds
Rescue Tone: A Hi-Lo tone, lasting appox. 30 seconds. This is for ambulance calls for critical medical calls.
Repetition: Repeats 3 times
Tornado/Severe Weather: A steady, continuous whistle lasting 3 minutes or longer. Seek shelter and turn to local radio 610 AM. Will only sound if a Tornado or Funnel Cloud is sighted near the city.
Civil Defense/Attack: A fast, wailing tone lasting 3 minutes. Tune to local radio 610 AM
Daily Noon Test: Westminster Chimes (Coming soon once all 4 new sirens are installed)
When you hear the sirens go off, there a very strong likelihood emergency responders are responding to the incident and the Telecommunications Center are not only dispatching the first responders to that incident, but also fielding phone calls about the incident from citizens and documenting everything happening. To stay in the loop and get the best information in the quickest manner, we recommend everyone signs up for official alerts through Panhandle Alert (Code Red).
This will give you instant phone notifications via email, phone call or text and can include local emergencies, evacuations and sever weather updates tailored to your specific address and it is free to register at panhandlealert.org.
We also recommend tuning into AM 610 KCSR for up to date information along with using the Watch Duty App, which is a fantastic companion for tracking wildfire activity in our area.