Nine emergency sirens now in use
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/07/2010 (5792 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Brandon now has nine emergency siren stations around the city, with plans to add two more this year.
In the event of a major emergency, such as a tornado or chemical spill, Brandon Police Service will use the sirens to warn residents.
"What we want them to do is to go inside and turn on a radio to a local station," said emergency servicesco-ordinator Brian Kayes.
The Brandon Emergency Alerting Program has an arrangement with the four local radio stations to broadcast instructions in the event of a large-scale emergency.
You may have already heard the sirens, as the system is tested on the first Wednesday of each month at 4:40 p.m.
"We want to let the public know what the system sounds like," Kayes said. "There’s always new people coming to Brandon … and it gives new police officers a chance to try it out."
The Brandon Emergency Support Team started looking at the emergency alert idea back in 2001.
"There wasn’t really any sort of early warning systems in place, so we … began looking at the issue of emergency alerting," Kayes said.
The siren system has now been active for about a year.
Last month, Kayes was presented with the 2010 Canadian Award for Emergency Management by the Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness for what he and the BEST team have done in Brandon.
"It’s recognition for all the work that we do together here … It’s recognized across the country," he said.
Kayes said it is "critical" that people know what to do in emergency situations.
If there was a hazardous material spill, for example, the instructions over the radio would tell people to close all windows and doors and shut off the ventilation system.
The current siren stations are located behind Green Acres School, in Rideau Park, on top of city hall, on top of the Agriculture Extension Centre on Queens Avenue, the cemetery, J.R. Reid School, the corner of McTavish Avenue and 42nd Street, the corner of 26th Street and Pacific Avenue and at the Riverbank Discovery Centre.
Two more sirens are on the way; one in the southwest corner of the city and one on the North Hill.
What To Do
If you hear the emergency sirens, head indoors and listen to a local radio station. The system has two different sounds:
* Alert — a high-low tone will ring to warn people of an emergency.
* All-clear — the sound of Westminster Chimes signals that the dangerous situation has passed and you may return to regular activities.
Visit www.brandon.ca to hear the tones, or listen for the test on the first Wednesday of each month at 4:40 p.m.