University Park Installs New Weather Alert Sirens
Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 8:20 amfrom the DMN:
One of the sirens is on the Southern Methodist University campus, which is inside University Park city limits. That siren will eventually have a few extra features, said Bill Detwiler, chairman of SMU's Emergency Planning Task Force.
One of those features will be a special tone used to warn students and faculty of lockdown situations.
"It will have a voice-over capacity, which would let us use it as a public address system," Mr. Detwiler said.
The SMU siren also will have a unique tone, independent of the city, to alert students to campus emergencies.
The university already had been working on its emergency communications planning for a couple of years. But the recent shootings at Virginia Tech have institutions re-evaluating and enhancing their systems, Mr. Detwiler said.
The upgrades cost the city $150,000, with $25,000 of that coming from SMU, said Steve Mace, a University Park spokesman.
One of the sirens is on the Southern Methodist University campus, which is inside University Park city limits. That siren will eventually have a few extra features, said Bill Detwiler, chairman of SMU's Emergency Planning Task Force.
One of those features will be a special tone used to warn students and faculty of lockdown situations.
"It will have a voice-over capacity, which would let us use it as a public address system," Mr. Detwiler said.
The SMU siren also will have a unique tone, independent of the city, to alert students to campus emergencies.
The university already had been working on its emergency communications planning for a couple of years. But the recent shootings at Virginia Tech have institutions re-evaluating and enhancing their systems, Mr. Detwiler said.
The upgrades cost the city $150,000, with $25,000 of that coming from SMU, said Steve Mace, a University Park spokesman.