County To Tackle Aging Siren System

SNOW HILL – The Worcester County Commissioners will seek input from fire companies as they explore plans to replace the county’s fire sirens.

The commissioners agreed last week to discuss the aging fire siren system with the county’s fire and EMS committee later this month. An analysis of the system indicated that nearly all of the sirens should be replaced.

“I’m looking for direction from the commissioners on how we wish to go forward with this,” said Billy Birch, the county’s director of emergency services.

In early 2021, the commissioners agreed to hire Federal Siren to evaluate the county’s warning sirens. The company’s survey revealed that nearly all of the sirens are of an age they should be replaced, Birch said.  They’re also not DC powered (battery based).

“The criticality of that is if we run out of power in an emergency… then the sirens may or may not work,” he said.

Siren locations are also a problem in some areas, as they’re not necessarily located at firehouses. There are also parts of the county they’re missing.

“Some critical areas like campgrounds and some designed communities may not get the same notification level based off of the current locations of the sire,” Birch said.

He said the commissioners needed to determine if they wanted a new fire siren system or a combination system that would include fire sirens as well as emergency notifications. When asked about the difference between a fire siren and an emergency notification siren, Birch said the difference would be the purpose behind it.

“Right now, currently we use it for notification of the volunteers and staff to go to a scene for a specific emergency call,” he said. “As far as the emergency notification system, that could be used in event of a tornado… it’s a different sound.”

Commissioner Josh Nordstrom said he thought the topic should be discussed with fire company officials at the committee level. His motion to table the issue until after the committee met in late October passed unanimously.

About The Author: Charlene Sharpe

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Charlene Sharpe has been with The Dispatch since 2014. A graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and the University of Richmond, she spent seven years with the Delmarva Media Group before joining the team at The Dispatch.