Some City of Duluth’s All Hazard Sirens will be Suspended During Mandated Upgrades

It gets my attention every time I hear them on the first Wednesday of the month.  The air raid sirens.  However, we won't be hearing them in January and possibly the month of February.  Here's why.

Over the next few months, the City of Duluth will be making upgrades to the radios and radio channel the “All Hazard Siren” operates through. They are following a mandate by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The City decided to wait until winter to do the upgrade to reduce the impact of the system being down. Half of the sirens will be taken offline for 3 weeks, once upgraded and placed back in service, the other sirens will be done. The hope is to have  the system fully functional by February 2013.

There's no need for concern, during the upgrades half the sirens will always be working. In case of an emergency all sirens can be set off manually at the pole if needed.

The usual testing on the first Wednesday of the month will not occur in January and potentially February of 2013.  We'll keep you informed as we receive the information.

If you have questions about the upgrade system, please contact Fire Chief John Strongitharm at 218-730-4390.

Info via:  City of Duluth