as I noted below, I didn’t hear sirens day before or Friday–today Tuesday was supposed to be test but nothing
On the TV this morning I heard that it was official that sirens did NOT sound on the actual day of the tornadoes.
The explanation - not excuse, just what happened or rather what didn’t happen - was that it wasn’t crystal clear whose responsibility it was to push the button to start the sirens. So no one pushed the button.
I expect some kerfluffle will ensue over that.
Kerfuffle indeed. The Emergency Management team was in a meeting down the street from the office with the button. When the first alert came the Director called the Fire Department (which has its own button) but the conversation sounded more like an FYI, and the Director didn’t explicitly say “We need you to push the button!” or anything like that.
Agency directors need to be as direct in giving orders as DMV clerks are in telling you you don’t have the complete paperwork.
Of course, the sirens in south county (where I live) worked just fine. 12 miles away from the tornado.
As it turns out, the Fire Department’s button doesn’t even work. Despite extensive tests the City of St. Louis ran on its siren network just days before the storm hit, they didn’t bother to test the connection from the FD to the network.
Quote from the St. Louis Post Dispatch
The city’s emergency management staff were in a workshop, out of the office, despite storm warnings that day. The emergency management chief called the fire department to activate the sirens, but didn’t appear to clearly communicate in the call.
And, even if communication was clear, Mayor Cara Spencer said on Wednesday, the button at the St. Louis Fire Department that activates the sirens wasn’t working.
“It’s my understanding that the button was not pushed,” Spencer said at a press conference. “It’s also my understanding that, had the button been pushed, it did not work the way it should have.”