The City of Sandwich Emergency Management Agency maintains six outdoor warning sirens for the purpose of alerting the public to enemy attack or other imminent hazards such as severe weather events.
Please remember that these devices are meant for alerting people engaged in outdoor activities. The devices are not designed to be heard indoors, but you may hear them indoors.
The warning devices are part of a participatory system of multiple devices to obtain All-Hazards alerts: Broadcast radio and television, NOAA All Hazards Radio, SEMA’s Traveler’s Information Station at 530 AM, various Internet sources, and Wireless Emergency Alerts via cellphone.
The six outdoor warning devices are under the primary control of the Sandwich Emergency Management Agency. The devices are tested monthly on the first Tuesday at 10:00AM, per provisions of the Illinois Emergency Management Act (20 ILCS 3305/12), weather permitting. Test instructions are posted at the multiple activation points. If a test cannot be carried out due to potential or in-progress severe weather or other in-progress hazards, the test will not be rescheduled in that month. The devices are covered by an annual maintenance contract, executed by a longtime distributor of the siren manufacturer. This distributor conducts annual inspection and preventative maintenance of the equipment.
For more information regarding the outdoor warning siren activation guidelines and testing procedures; please review the links to the documentation below.