Mon Nov 05, 2007 9:41 pm
I talked with the new Holly Village Fire Chief, and he said that to the best of his knowledge, both sirens are in working order. Moreover, the plans to dismantle the old water tower have been placed on hold, as the city needs all the water pressure they can get. Therefore, both sirens are in no danger of being taken out of service. However, the police department is in charge of activating the warning sirens.
I phoned the lieutenant at the police station, and he is not certain if the Federal Lion still works or not, as they have not used it in ages. That siren was used to call-out the volunteer firemen, and since they all have pagers they rarely use it anymore. Likewise, the SD-10 is rarely used, since Oakland County has implemented a network of 2001s in the region. However, they did use the SD-10 for the start and end of Halloween trick-or-treat a few days ago.
After the recent tornado that struck nearby Fenton, Holly PD has recently received permission to activate their local sirens for any emergencies. Previously, only Oakland County could set-off all the sirens in the county at the same time. However, Holly PD will handle local activations, well in advance of Oakland County's EOC, which has a policy of waiting until the storm is inside their county before they will trigger the warning system.
Currently, the Village of Holly is debating as to whether the SD-10 should be included with the other sirens. Likewise, they plan on purchasing another siren to cover the north side of the village, which has seen some growth over the past several years. Hopefully, they will make a good choice and purchase another mechanical siren.
Sincerely yours,
Ron W.
"When your siren's a failin', chances are it's a Whelen."