Siren malfunctions during statewide drill

Everything did not go according to plan when local officials tested tornado sirens in New Rockford on April 26.

Eddy County Emergency Manager, Lisa Thompson, reported to county commissioners on Tuesday that when the alarms were triggered at 11 a.m. as scheduled, none of the city's sirens sounded off.

According to Public Works Superintendent Bruce Hirchert, when tornado drills are conducted for New Rockford, one person stands at each of the three sirens located in town. Then, the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center (LEC) triggers the alarms from Devils Lake.

When the LEC first triggered the alarms on April 26, nothing happened. A second attempt was made shortly after, but again the sirens remained silent.

At that point, Thompson herself went to the Eddy County Courthouse, where she could utilize a second method of triggering the alarms locally. Only then did the sirens blare.

Afterwards, Thompson contacted the 9-1-1 coordinator at the LEC, and when they tried a third time to trigger the alarms from Devils Lake, it finally worked.

At Tuesday's county commission meeting, Thompson said she wasn't sure why the initial attempts failed, but suggested it could have been user error from the LEC.

The siren problems didn't end there, however.

The individual stationed at one of New Rockford's sirens – located near NAPA Auto Parts along Hwy. 281 – reported the alarm in that location merely sputtered a few times before falling silent.

Hirchert said the exact cause of the silent alarm hasn't been identified, but that the issue is being investigated. One potential fix he identified was as simple as a battery change.

Sheyenne's sirens, meanwhile, went off without a hitch when they were tested, said Thompson. As for the sirens in New Rockford, she said they'll be testing them again to make sure all three are in perfect working order.

"It's nothing to worry about," assured Thompson. "The one siren that is not working will be fixed within the next couple of weeks, and all the other sirens are operational."

During her report on Tuesday, Thompson also provided an update on snow removal reimbursement.

Earlier this year, on Jan. 6, Eddy County Commissioners unanimously carried a motion to declare a snow emergency, thereby opening the door to reimbursement at a later date.

The next steps in that process were recently completed by Thompson and Eddy County Auditor Patty Williams.

"Patty and I finished up last week the October through December timeframe for state snow removal reimbursement," said Thompson on Tuesday. "I think it went fairly well ... I'm very hopeful we could see some nice money coming back."

Thompson noted they will also complete paperwork for snow removal reimbursement for the months of January through April.

The next regular county commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 6 at 8:30 a.m. in the Eddy County Courthouse.