An outdoor severe weather siren will soon make several neighborhoods in eastern St Joseph safer. The siren was donated by Altec Industries and is placed on Weisenborn Road near US-36 highway and Riverside Road.
Following the recommendations from local contractor Blue Valley Public Safety, Altec’s local Safety Department spearheaded an effort to keep businesses and citizens of the eastern portions of the city aware of severe weather and an eminent tornado.
“After Blue Valley Public Safety toured the campus, it was determined that a new siren would benefit not only our associates, but the eastern parts of the city located on the perimeter of coverage by the closest existing outdoor weather siren,” said Sandy Travis, Corporate Regional Health and Safety Representative.
To further increase severe weather safety, Altec held a series of events to help establish safer evacuation and shelter plans for the company. Shelter locations were moved to centralized locations rather than small offices and bathrooms located throughout the campus.
“After reviewing our tornado warning in our plant safety events, it was realized that siren coverage in this part of the city was limited. This siren not only ensures the safety of our associates, but it gives Altec a great opportunity to give back to our neighbors and community,” said Colby Edwards, Altec Midwest Director of Operations.
St. Joseph now has 22 outdoor weather sirens. The new siren can be heard up to one mile away in all directions and covers the areas of Deer Park and Mitchell Woods. All city sirens are narrow-banded and have two-way capabilities, meaning they can transmit information along with receiving transmissions. The siren was purchased from Blue Valley Public Safety, which has contracted with the city to maintain the sirens.
(News Release, City of St. Joseph)