ST. LOUIS – On Tuesday afternoon, the City of St. Louis conducted a test of the emergency siren system, days after the sirens failed to go off in some areas before the May 16 tornado.
The EF-3 tornado first struck in St. Louis County in Richmond Heights and Clayton before it made its way northeast through north St. Louis.
Mayor Cara Spencer has moved control of the siren from the city’s Office of Emergency Management to the St. Louis Fire Department.
Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson met with the National Weather Service on Tuesday morning to implement a four-point redundancy protocol.
“We went through every piece of equipment,” he said. “Anything that was marginal, we’re having that replaced.”
At a news conference on Tuesday, the mayor spoke with the media about responsibility for the faulty sirens.
“We have taken steps to rectify the procedures and policies as it is associated with the deployment of the siren system,” Spencer said. “We are on the process of automating that system. Within a year, there will be an automated system. At the end of the day, the siren failure should never have happened, and it will never happen again.”
The warning sirens are designated for people who are outdoors or in city parks, who might not have access to a phone or weather radio. Officials in St. Louis City and County recommend citizens have both.
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