NORTH FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, Pa, — North Franklin Township is beefing up its response to severe weather.
On Thursday, the township began installing a new siren system that will be heard by everyone who lives there.
“We’re erring on the side of safety,” said Bob Sabot, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “Does the township absolutely have to have this? The Board of Supervisors determined we should and it is the right thing to do.”
The $60,000 siren system was already in the works last fall when three tornadoes hit Washington County, further emphasizing the need for these emergency alerts.
“It only takes one incident. It only takes one tornado. It only takes one emergency,” said Sabot. “You could be complacent and say, ‘Well that’ll never happen,’ until it does.”
The Federal Signal sirens are being installed at all three fire stations in the township and will sound for 30 seconds when crews respond to fires and 5 minutes for tornado warnings and intense flooding.
“It’ll be set off automatically when the National Weather Service sends out an alert to the community for warnings and such,” said Fire Chief David Bane. “It’s also going to double as a fire siren for the community.”
North Franklin Township is the first in Washington County to install these sirens.
The alerts will likely be heard beyond the township’s 7.4 square miles.
The hope is that more townships will follow suit, too.
“The township has already gotten inquiries from other municipalities in Washington County that are considering doing exactly what we’re doing,” said Sabot.
The township hopes to have all three sirens completely installed and ready to be tested by the end of the week.
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