Have to wonder what the story behind this is.....

[Fletch]

I hate places that are so anti-siren like that. I guess they can't be bothered. They fail to understand that a multi-tiered warning system is most effective.

The entire state of Florida is pretty much like that. Everyone hates sirens and won't even consider a siren system. Except for places around the nuclear power plants, and a few smart beach communities and some smaller inland communities, none of the metro areas in Florida have any outdoor warning sirens.

[Travis]

well when were they put up? give a littel history on them.
cuse i know the ones around me were put in the 70s so i allways thought those were early birds and we have a great mix of 4008s and 3016s and never heard of any diffrent 4008s. though im allways open to ideas

I'm thinking very late 1980's or early 1990's. Plano, which has the more common "version" of the 4008 put their system into place in 1997 or 1998.

In regards to Fletch's last comment:

You must consider how the city feels about purchasing an outdoor warning siren. Unlike the Midwest, tornadoes are not quite as common, and the only real major weather they see is hurricanes, in which case the average person has a few days' notice.

Outdoor warning sirens are like insurance. You invest a hell of a lot of money for something that may or may not happen. When cities weigh their other needs, sirens in places like FL may not be as important as other emergency equipment.

I do think that sirens are an excellent thing to have, even if the need to use them never arises, because you are prepared for when it does. What I DON'T understand though, is why Disney and the other major parks out there don't have them.

[Fletch]

I have seen a picture of an outdoor "civil defense" siren at Universal Studios.

[500AT]

I was told by the former city attorney of Dearborn, Michigan, when they installed their new Whelen system, "Any community that doesn't have an outdoor warning siren system, is opening themselves up to a major lawsuit by not providing adequate protection to their residents." In today's world where people are always looking for a way to sue someone or something; hence, this is a class-action lawsuit waiting to happen in many communities that lack adequate siren coverage,

I wonder how many more people in Florida have to die before community leaders change their minds? Many people take it for granted that their town is covered by a warning siren system, when in fact, it may not be. However, since sirens are always featured on the news when a disaster happens, or when safety videos are shown, many people believe that such systems are in place, but only activated in a real emergency.

In the past, I can think of a few communities that had a siren system still in place, mostly from the Cold War, and promoted it as being "there" in case of an actual emergency. The sad reality is that most of the sirens did not work, but the city painted them to look brand new and well-kept. Sadly, its a reoccurring story of another community that liked to play Russian Roulette with it's citizens lives.

[Justin]

Sadly, its a reoccurring story of another community that liked play Russian Roulette with it's citizens lives.

And from what I've seen in the way of investigative reports, it seems like they're loading five of the six round chambers.

Like I've said in my Design Tech portfolio: A single failure is unacceptable, at least in my view.