SOUNDING THE ALARM

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jul 13, 2008 by Tim Hrenchir

By Tim Hrenchir

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

It was May 1955, and the deadliest tornado in Kansas history had just taken 77 lives while leveling the Cowley County community of Udall.

Four days later, officials in Shawnee County responded by announcing that six Civil Defense sirens bought to warn the public of a nuclear attack on the United States and due for immediate installation also would be sounded to warn residents of approaching tornadoes, the Topeka Daily Capital reported.

Today, the county maintains 72 sirens, for which county emergency management director David Sterbenz says the proper term is "outdoor warning devices."

Sterbenz is asking county commissioners to invest in public safety by budgeting $940,000 next year to replace or update sirens. He is seeking approval of the capital expenditure as part of the county's 2009 budget, which commissioners plan to finalize next month.

Gary Middleton, who retired as director last year after 30 years with the county's emergency management department and its predecessor agencies -- including Topeka-Shawnee County Civil Defense -- says the first sirens were bought using federal money to warn residents of an attack on the United States.

"When the local civil defense managers began to tell the federal government, 'We need to use this for more than just an attack on the country,' they were allowed to use them for other types of things, such as severe weather," Middleton said.

Capital-Journal archives indicated the community had eight sirens by the time Robert Jones became Topeka-Shawnee County Civil Defense coordinator in 1956, with that total increasing to 46 by the time Jones retired in 1977.

In March 1967, The Daily Capital ran an advertisement for Topeka- Shawnee County Civil Defense announcing a change in its siren procedure to comply with changes at the national level. The ad featured a drawing of a blaring siren standing between a whirling tornado and a nuclear mushroom cloud. It said a three-minute steady tone on the civil defense sirens would warn of a tornado, while a three-minute "wailing tone" was reserved to warn of enemy attack in the U.S.

In capital letters, the ad encouraged those hearing the latter tone to "seek fallout shelter which is marked and stocked where practical."

Today, Sterbenz says, the county's sirens are still capable of emitting a wailing tone -- which he describes as being like an "air raid siren" -- to warn of an enemy attack.

But Sterbenz said the common use is to warn of such severe weather emergencies as tornadoes or straight-line winds in excess of 70 mph. People who hear the sirens should take cover and consult local media for severe weather information, Sterbenz said.

County commissioners most recently acted to buy new sirens on June 30 when they voted to spend a total of $40,782 to replace sirens at 2447 S.E. 29th and 401 S.E. California Ave. The latter siren was 45 to 50 years old, Sterbenz said.

He said 14 of the county's 72 sirens, including the two newly purchased ones, are up to date.

Sterbenz is asking the county to replace 38 other sirens, buy an additional siren and purchase new internal parts for the county's 20 other sirens.

His request comes at the end of a severe weather season that saw multiple malfunctions of county sirens. Sterbenz said his department has been moving money from other parts of its budget so it can afford to keep the sirens going.

Emergency management records show two of the current sirens are 45 to 50 years old, three are 40 to 45 years old, and more than 30 are between 20 and 30 years old.

Sterbenz said his proposed expenditure also would enable the county to offer selectivity by sounding warnings in just one part of the county when other areas aren't affected.

The Daily Capital reported the National Weather Service spoke in opposition when Jones in 1974 combined systems so that most of the county's tornado sirens could be set off by pushing one button.

Ed Provost, then chief meteorologist at the weather service, told the newspaper the prior system offered selectivity by enabling officials to sound warnings in one part of the county that didn't affect other parts of the county. He said the weather service's policy was to not warn any more people than necessary.

But Jones told The Daily Capital the new arrangement removed some responsibility from dispatchers working under stress concerning whether to press a button. Jones said he felt everyone in the county should be alerted whenever a tornado was sighted.

Currently, Sterbenz said, all of the county's sirens -- except those in Rossville, Silver Lake and Willard -- are on the same circuit.

Sterbenz said the expenditure he is requesting would enable the county to isolate sirens by only setting off those in areas where an alert is needed. With such an arrangement in place, he said, the county could opt to set the sirens off during other types of emergencies, such as flooding or chemical spills.

County Commissioners Shelly Buhler, Vic Miller and Ted Ensley are considering Sterbenz's request for funding as they put together the county's 2009 budget. Commissioners are required by state law to approve the budget and certify it to the county clerk by Aug. 25.