Lexington residents and visitors in the downtown area are safer today with the successful relocation of an outdoor warning siren to the roof of the Fayette County District Court building. The siren has been located on the roof of the Lexington Police Department parking garage.
“The police headquarters location did not provide for optimum alerting coverage in the downtown area,” said Patricia Dugger, Director of Lexington Emergency Management. “With the move to the top of the district courthouse building, alerts will sound throughout downtown, especially in the frequent festival and event areas.” The siren system also has an upgraded control and sounding system.
Other siren upgrades in the first half of 2019 include pole replacements at Constitution and Landsdowne Parks. “Many of the sirens are on poles that are more than 30 years old,” said Dugger. “One of the many things we plan for is the eventual replacement of these poles for our older installations.”
Currently, Lexington Emergency Management maintains a network of 30 outdoor warning sirens in Lexington parks and golf courses. Sirens will sound a wail for tornado warnings and community emergencies. The Westminster chime tones will sound for monthly testing, severe thunderstorm warnings, and tornado watches.
It’s important for residents to remember that Lexington’s outdoor warning siren network is designed to alert persons who are outdoors in parks or golf courses. The system is not intended to warn persons who are indoors.
“We have many ways of staying aware of hazardous weather or other emergency conditions,” said Dugger. “We want people to sign up for LexAlerts through our BeReadyLexington.com website for alerts and download our BeReady app for their mobile phones.”
Emergency and preparedness information is also available through the Lexington Emergency Management social media accounts: On Facebook -@LexingtonKYEM and Twitter – @Lexkyem.
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