Another use for old LA Sirens

[Archon]

They could be used in the rural areas around the cities for Fire Storm Warning. When the sirens sound that means get the hell out NOW

[AllSafe]

Anyone who lives close to there who has sirens should sound them to warn of the approaching wildfire.

[C. Bryant]

I great idea , but I heard more than one comment on reverse 911
on the radio in the last two days. Any one hear what citys in
South Orange county or north
San Diego activated their reverse 911. Did it work well, look at all
the power and
phone lines down , I wonder

[Justin]

But we have one flaw in our anti-Reverse 911 (or 000 in my case) theory...

Sirens were designed to be heard outdoors only. Yeah most of us can hear them inside, but it doesn't mean your neighbour can. Reverse-911 has the merit of reaching people from within their homes and pretty much everyone has a phone of some sort.

Personally (while it's an interesting idea) I don't think it would be a good one because you usually get plenty of warning before these things arrive.

[loudmouth]

ehh.... i mean come on there a fire comeing down a hill at you. i think you can hear it comeing... they do sound like a freight train.

[kx250rider]

I great idea , but I heard more than one comment on reverse 911
on the radio in the last two days. Any one hear what citys in
South Orange county or north
San Diego activated their reverse 911. Did it work well, look at all
the power and
phone lines down , I wonder

I heard a report on KNX radio (CBS-Los Angeles) about the reverse 911 being used in one or more of the San Diego fire zones on Monday. The report boiled down to the fact that it was a grand failure. Half the people didn't answer the phone, and many more in the fire areas were workmen, employees, and visitors with out-of-town cellphones. In fact, here at home in Moorpark, we have NO actual phone. We have a fax line, but no telephone. We use cellphones as primary phones. Mine is from the small town of Ojai, which is 40 miles away, and Kay's is from Burbank, 40 miles the opposite way. Lotta good that would do us with a reverse 911. I guess we'll know right away when there's a flood of the Ventura River............40 miles away in Ojai, or a chemical spill down in Burbank.

But as much of a siren nut as I am, I can't honestly say that I think a siren warning for wildfire would work in most cases. Danger of being surprise-attacked by these fires is mainly for people who live downwind from the flames, and on top of a steep hill. In those (fairly rare) cases, such as the Malibu Presbyterian Church, the flames are not there one minute, then they are surrounding the place. 99% of the rest of the damage is in places where there were hours of warning from smoke, noisy firefighting aircraft, and common sense.

Such cases where a siren warning would be very useful would be where a large vulnerable neighborhood with very limited access, such as some of the canyon areas. The siren could sound a certain code to warn people that a fire ongoing, and that they should pay attention. But to warn of evacuations, nobody would act on it. When I've been evacuated for wildfires in 1993 and 2003, the sheriff drives through the specific area that needs to get out, and blares the siren. Then he/she announces over PA whether it's a NOW evacuation, or a "BE READY" alert.

Charles

[C. Bryant]

Follow link , watch out Siren manufactors , the R-911 club
are trying to
take over your future system sales & upgrades .

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... ?coll=la-h...

Proceed with caution & worst case event
engineering in mind.

But someday a major phone trunk -line is going to get cut
[ earthquake ,tornado ] , Fried [ Fire ] during an emergency
and what good will R-911 be then ? only a Hardened System
Radio Controled Sirens W/ battery backup will Prevail and provide
proper warning.

[C. Bryant]

The heat is ON for a Warning System in Los Angeles Co.

Channel 7 KABC will show a segment tonight Thurs. on Reverse 911
Why does Los Angeles and Orange County Not Have ??
set to air in the 5:00 PM PDT hour .

I dont know if it will go on their web site .

[Hacksaw]

The Oakland Hills firestorm was a major factor in Oakland, CA getting a full siren system of 2001's.

[Daniel]

San Francisco County has an operating set of ATI's that we all know and hate, and most of the surrounding counties also have working sirens. While the Bay Area has less to worry about with wildfires, Los Angeles also lays on a flat basin which could be decimated in a large tsunami. Much of San Francisco, in comparison, is well above sea level. If any California cities should have a system for national security reasons, Los Angeles and Sacramento should top the list.