Approximately half of the 101 new severe weather warning system sirens being installed throughout Jefferson County are expected to start operating by the end of this month, Office of Emergency Management Director Warren Robinson said.
Installation of the severe weather warning sirens started in February 2025. The system, which includes two central control units, will alert people in unincorporated areas of the county about dangerous weather with a series of loud tones, Robinson said.
“We had a communication issue we are working on,” he said on March 3. “I believe we have the item we need to get it corrected, and I am scheduling that to be put in.”
Robinson said the issue was connecting the central control units to the sirens. He said when work on the repeater is completed the installed sirens should start working.
“We should be able to start utilizing the sirens that are in place, and we will be able to bring new ones online as they are put on the ground,” he said. “It will start exploding in coverage after we get it switched on.”
Jefferson County Council members agreed in October 2024 to award a $2,248,396.74 contract to ATI Systems Inc. of Boston to provide the system.
The county’s goal is to cover 2,000 or more people per square mile with each siren.
According to county documents, 94 of the sirens will be “tone only,” meaning they will not project recorded voices during emergencies. Seven of the sirens will have voice and tone capabilities, which will explain why the system has been activated and will provide instructions on what to do, such as finding the nearest shelter.
When it’s in place, the system will be activated automatically when the National Weather Service sends out an emergency warning for an area, Robinson said.
He said the two central control units will be located at the Office of Emergency Management building and one of the Jefferson County 911 Dispatch’s buildings, adding that the ATI System is the same one that Arnold has had since 2007.
Robinson said all of the sirens are expected to be in place by the end of the spring.
“It is going to be good,” he said. “This is something we have needed for a long time.”
Robinson previously said the system will be tested after it is fully installed. The system is designed to detect problems internally, so sirens will not always have to be turned on to ensure they are operating correctly.
However, he said, there will be times when the system is activated when there is not a severe weather event.