PLYMOUTH, Wis — A tornado siren in Plymouth activated accidentally at least 5 times around 8 p.m. last Friday, prompting confusion among residents and responses from both the Plymouth Police Department and Plymouth Fire and Rescue.
The siren, located at the Plymouth City Hall, is typically tested daily around noon. When it sounded repeatedly on Friday evening, residents turned to social media with questions about what was happening.
The Plymouth Police Department posted on Facebook confirming the siren went off accidentally, adding, "There is no emergency." Plymouth Fire and Rescue also posted, saying a malfunction caused the siren to sound and apologized for the confusion.
Hear from Residents in the Video Player Below
Sarah Rudd said she heard the siren go off that night. Her 4-year-old son then asked her if they needed to evacuate to their basement.
"My son's looking to me for comfort, and I'm like, I don't have any answers for you. So that was kind of frustrating on our end," said Rudd. "Okay, this is a little scary, and no one in the media knows what's going on. And so that was a little alarming, to be honest."
John Birschbach said he was also trying to figure out what was happening when the siren went off.
"I thought maybe they were testing it at first, and then when it went off, like, three or four times, I thought oh, maybe it's a malfunction," said Birschbach.
Even after learning there was no emergency, Birschbach said the incident highlighted the importance of having a reliable siren system.
"We definitely need them. If we didn't have them, I wouldn't feel secure." said Birschbach.
Rudd also agreed that reliable sirens are especially important for people who may not have access to the internet or social media.
"We have a lot of elderly residents in the area, so I think people still need that, you know, that noise to notify them what's going on, especially little kids that don't have phones or technology," said Rudd.
Plymouth Police Chief sent a statement to TMJ4 saying, "Just one siren activated Friday night. It was the one located on the roof of Plymouth City Hall. A technician did respond and took just that siren out of service. It is suspected that water from the heavy rain entered the equipment cabinet and caused a problem. We hope to have the siren repaired tomorrow. All of our other sirens are working."
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