COSHOCTON – Coshocton County commissioners are considering expanding warning sirens throughout the county, but it would require grant funding.
Recently, Tuscarawas Township Trustee Chuck Selders submitted a list of 15 locations across the county that he believes would benefit from an outdoor siren. They include the Coshocton District Court, the intersection of County Road 9 and Ohio 751, the four-lane stop sign in New Bedford, between Blissfield and Layland on Ohio 60, River View High School, Prairie Chapel Church, Spring Mountain, Mossy’s Drive Thru in New Castle, Echoing Hills in West Bedford, between Cooperdale and Wakatomika, the Wills Creek area, New Moscow and township homes in Nellie, Fresno and Keene.
Currently, sirens are installed in Coshocton city schools and fire stations in Bakersville, Plainfield, Coshocton, Conesville, Canal Lewisville, Pleasant Valley, West Lafayette and Walhonding Valley. They are tested the first Wednesday of every month at 10 a.m. Rob McMasters, director of the Coshocton County Emergency Management Agency, said he checks people in certain areas to make sure they hear the sirens. The monthly tests began in 2009.
He said decibel levels and terrain can affect range, but the sirens can generally be heard from a half-mile to two miles away — though this can decrease in bad weather. They are typically mounted on utility poles about 30 to 40 feet high.
The sirens are used to tell people to stay indoors. Most people think of tornado warnings, but McMasters gave another example of a toxic cloud.
Most of the county’s sirens are over 20 years old, McMasters said. The newest ones in Plainfield, Coshocton and West Lafayette are about six to eight years old. The old Coshocton Fire Department siren has been moved to Coshocton schools.
The county owns and maintains the sirens at Coshocton schools, as well as those at Pleasant Valley and Canal Lewisville schools. Administrator Mary Beck believes the county received maintenance on those two sirens years ago as part of the grants for them. The cost to maintain all three is $1,700 per year.
The other sirens are maintained by the municipalities where the sirens are located. McMasters said some also use the sirens as a fire bell, and in Bakersville the siren still sounds every day at noon to let farmers in the fields know it’s time for lunch.
New sirens cost $20,000 to $30,000, plus installation and maintenance. Commissioner Dane Shryock said it would be impossible to pay for new sirens from the general fund. He directed McMasters to explore grant opportunities and talk to agencies in other counties for ideas. McMasters is scheduled to report back on Sept. 11.
McMasters said there is a lot of debate about the use and effectiveness of the sirens across the state, given the other ways people can be warned of disasters, such as text and phone services, such as Code Red, which is used in Coshocton County.
“People are still installing sirens, but not to the extent they have in decades past because other technologies have been developed,” McMasters said. “If anyone is installing them, it’s larger communities.”
Shryock is aware of this, but still believes they are valuable in rural communities like Coshocton.
“I know technology has changed, but not every kid playing baseball has a phone with them, not every kid out there has a phone all the time. Some older people, 25% of the population in the United States, still have landlines. Some of these issues are important,” he said.
