Arlington, Virginia Launches Regional Pilot for Outdoor Emergency Warning System

In this era of modern communications and emergency warning systems, is there a role for outdoor sirens?
On behalf of the National Capital Region, Arlington County will try to answer that question, managing a pilot test beginning this month of new outdoor warning system technology -- sometimes referred to as "sirens" -- to see if the technology can add to the emergency communications "system of systems."

This is not your father's air raid siren.

The new outdoor system combines a horn blast with a loudspeaker, which will broadcast a clear message, giving specific instructions. The system can be tested silently, without disturbing residents. Emergencies such as the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita highlighted the need for a wider public warning system to reach people who might not receive emergency warnings from other sources.
The system, if found to be effective, would supplement the region's many other emergency notification systems.
The region's emergency managers want to see how effectively the outdoor warning system reaches people who do not have mobile devices, who are visiting the National Capital Region, or who are outside or away from television, radio, and telephones. In addition, the warning system can be activated in specific neighborhoods only, enabling police to help look for a lost child, for example.

The federally funded $400,000 pilot program is authorized by the Emergency Preparedness Council of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. The pilot will test effectiveness in an urban environment (high rise buildings, etc) as well as park settings and will test the ability to expand the system to a city-wide scale.

Arlington County's Office of Emergency Management, (OEM), in partnership with the city of Alexandria's Office of Emergency Management, was selected under a federal grant from the Department of Homeland Security for the project. They will test its effectiveness in open space and in areas of dense, high-rise buildings, as well as how well it reaches daytime and nighttime populations and its scalability.

The pilot test system is being installed this month. Initial testing will test the reception of the system and will be silent. Testing involving sound and voice will take place at a later time (to be announced).

System components that are being installed:

• Horns will be mounted near the tops of utility poles.
• Conduits and battery supplies will be mounted to supply power to those poles. A receiving antenna will be mounted on the top of the pole (roughly 20 inches tall).
• "Base units" (roughly 2' x 2' x 2') will be installed in Arlington's OEM office and in Alexandria's OEM office. These are the primary control stations.
• Relay-antennas will be mounted on tall-building rooftops. The radio frequencies used to activate the "horns" require these antennas to provide coverage to all sites. The antennas are roughly 40" and may be mounted on supports up to 5 feet above the roof. Generally, they will be invisible from the street.

Arlington's emergency managers use a "system of systems" to provide urgent information to those who live in, work in, and visit Arlington.

Arlington's current emergency communications systems include Arlington Alert, which sends text messages to mobile devices and email. Arlington also sends information to commercial broadcast media, keeps its web site current, and puts emergency information on 1700AM Arlington, a low-wattage radio station with emergency information. Arlington also uses Reverse 911 for highly localized needs.

On September 15, 2005, the Emergency Preparedness Council of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments received a copy and presentation of Public Safety Best Practices: Talking Siren Technology. The report highlights the potential value of outdoor voice warning systems as part of an integrated public alerting "system of systems." The best practices identified by the study included integrated public outdoor warning systems with indoor warning such as NOAA.

The outdoor warning system concept was supported and promoted by the Arlington County Citizen Corps Council in 2004. This group of volunteers spent hundreds of hours to insure the region received funding for the outdoor warning pilot.

Arlington and Alexandria are the first jurisdictions in the region to install this type of alerting system that addresses public outreach and alerting needs for people attending special events, visiting or in transit. Outdoor warning systems are installed in other parts of the country, including San Francisco and nuclear power plants.

The outdoor warning system is manufactured by MadahCom Inc.