September 4, 2008

Purdue, county sirens tested first Saturday of each month

The Tippecanoe County Emergency Management Agency tests all 70 sirens throughout the county, including the five at Purdue, at 11 a.m. the first Saturday of every month. However, in cases in which weather might legitimately cause the siren system to be activated or if a Purdue football game starts at 11 a.m. or before, a test can be canceled, said Mark Kirby, the agency's director.

"These regular tests allow Tippecanoe County's emergency management agency and us to determine that everything is in working order," said Ron Wright, the university's director of emergency preparedness. "They also serve as a reminder to the students on campus and the Purdue community to think about what to do in the event of a real emergency."

In an actual emergency, Purdue's sirens indicate a major disaster or imminent threat involving the entire campus and/or surrounding community. The threat could be from natural causes or a human-caused incident.

The campus sirens signal individuals to shelter in place, meaning to go to the lowest level of a building or to get to the nearest room and secure the doors, depending upon the situation. When possible, people on campus also should check the Purdue home page, https://www.purdue.edu, e-mail and local media for more information on the emergency and the appropriate action to take.

The sirens are part of Purdue Alert, the multi-layered system of notifying people on campus of an emergency. Other notifications include the use of mass e-mail, Facebook, mass text-messaging and Boiler TV.

More information about the alert system can be found at the Purdue Emergency Preparedness Web site, https://www.purdue.edu/emergency_preparedness/

Writer: Jim Bush, (765) 494-2077, jsbush@purdue.edu

Sources: Ron Wright, (765) 494-0446, rdwright@purdue.edu

Mark Kirby,  (765) 742-1334, info@tema.tippecanoe.in.us

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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