Smyrna, GA
| Smyrna, GA | |
 The Whelen Engineering VORTEXR4 and Federal Sign & Signal Model STH-10A pair at the First Baptist Church of Smyrna. Photo taken by Christian B. (4j25) on July 10th, 2015. | |
| Type | City |
|---|---|
| Location | Smyrna, GA |
| Date installed | 1971-1985 (old system)
2008/2009 (new system)
|
| Status | Active |
| Testing dates | 1st Wednesday of the month |
| Testing times | 12:00 PM |
Smyrna is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. In the 2020 Census, Smyrna's population was 55,663. As an extension of the Cobb County, GA outdoor warning siren network, Smyrna operates the Severe Weather Outdoor Warning Signals/Sirens (SWOWS) network, comprised of 10 Whelen Engineering VORTEXR4 sirens located strategically throughout Smyrna limits. Smyrna first implemented Federal Sign & Signal Model STH-10 sirens in 1971 and carried out a major overhaul in 2008 that brought the siren network to its current iteration as it stands today.
History
The 1st known siren in Smyrna, GA was a Federal Enterprises(?) Type D. It was formerly operated by the Smyrna Train Depot and relocated to the Smyrna History Museum after demolition in 1959. Smyrna purchased their first batch of 3 ph Federal Sign & Signal Model STH-10A sirens in 1971—these sirens were scattered across Smyrna limits (the only confirmed locations of 1971 purchases S Cobb Drive and Windy Hill Road and the Smyrna Police Department) but did not adequately cover the city. Thus, another shipment followed in 1975, and another of Model STH-10A and 1 ph Model STH-10B sirens in 1976 or 1978 (at the confirmed locations of S Cobb Drive and Concord Road SE, King Springs Elementary School, and King Springs Road SE and Springwood Drive SE).
The final batch of Model STH-10 sirens was ordered in 1985 (the only confirmed location S Cobb Drive and Windy Hill Road SE), bringing the total number of sirens up to 11[1]—7 Model STH-10A sirens (3 locations with an unknown purchase date on Cooper Lake Road SE and Colonial Drive, Elmwood Drive and Spring Road SE, and Windy Hill Road and Woodlake Drive) and 4 Model STH-10B sirens (2 locations with an unknown purchase date at Smyrna Fire Station 3 and Belmont Circle and Windy Hill Road SE). In 1989 or 1990, Smyrna received 2 decommissioned Federal Sign & Signal Thunderbolt sirens—1 Model 1000A and 1 Model 1000AT—from DeKalb County, GA; Cobb County, GA also received some of the DeKalb County sirens. The Model 1000A was implemented on Buckner Road and the Model 1000AT was implemented at Smyrna Fire Station 4. It is rumored that Atlanta purchased Loudoun Communications Model ES-1000 sirens after 1975, 1 of which was later donated to Smyrna in the 1990s and placed on Ridge Road SE and Creatwood Trail SE; there is little evidence to support this theory.
Around the turn of the millennium, the Model STH-10A at the former Smyrna Police Department building installed in 1971 was moved to the Smyrna First Baptist Church, and 2 Whelen Engineering VORTEXR4 sirens equipped with "finback" assemblies were bought and placed on East West Connector/Silver Comet Trail and Campbell Road SE, bringing the final total number of sirens before 2008 up to 16. In 2008, it became apparent to Smyrna that their aging network of sirens—some over 3 decades old—was in need of a major overhaul. The Emergency Management division of Smyrna Fire Rescue completed the replacement of all pre-existing sirens by 2009; 8 Whelen Engineering VORTEXR4 sirens were chosen as the new sirens and implemented at Smyrna Fire Station 4 (directly replacing a Model 1000T), S Cobb Drive and Concord Road SE (directly replacing a Model STH-10A), Smyrna Fire Station 3 (directly replacing a Model STH-10B), King Springs Road SE and Springwood Drive SE (directly replacing a Model STH-10B), Smyrna First Baptist Church (directly replacing a Model STH-10A), S Cobb Drive and Windy Hill Road SE (directly replacing a Model STH-10A), Ridge Road SE and Creatwood Trail SE (directly replacing a Model ES-1000), Cooper Lake Road SE and Colonial Drive (directly replacing a Model STH-10A removed immediately after), and Pebblebrook Road and Vinings Shire Drive SE.
The only sirens from the old siren network which remained in use were the VORTEXR4 sirens on East West Connector/Silver Comet Trail and Campbell Road SE, while everything else was indirectly replaced and abandoned in place; this included the Model 1000A on Buckner Road, the Windy Hill Road and Woodlake Drive and Elmwood Drive and Spring Road SE Model STH-10A sirens, and King Springs Elementary School, Belmont Circle and Windy Hill Road SE, and Atlanta Road and Creatwood Trail SE Model STH-10B sirens. The VORTEXR4 on Campbell Road SE disappeared no later than 2012; whether it was sold or relocated elsewhere is unclear. Many of Smyrna's surviving old sirens still remained after 2008/2009, some left side by side with their successors. The Smyrna Fire Station 4 Model 1000T and S Cobb Drive and Concord Road SE Model STH-10A were left standing after the upgrade but were removed in September of 2015. The King Springs Elementary School and Atlanta Road and Creatwood Trail SE Model STH-10B sirens were removed in 2021 after construction work; only pole stumps remain of these locations. The removed sirens' whereabouts are unknown.
Many of Smyrna's surviving old sirens still remain today, some left side by side with their successors. A Smyrna fire chief supposedly mentioned an auction of the legacy sirens in 2015, but nothing ever came of this.[2] An inquiry was made regarding purchase of an old Smyrna siren in 2018 but led to no results after the city requested $2,000 dollars and demanded that buyer remove the siren; these hefty requirements likely mean none of Smyrna's legacy sirens will be preserved in the near future. The only remaining legacy sirens as of today are the Model 1000A on Buckner Road, the Model STH-10A sirens on King Springs Road and Springwood Drive SE, First Baptist Church of Smyrna, S Cobb Drive and Windy Hill Road SE, Elmwood Drive and Spring Road SE, and Windy Hill Road and Woodlake Drive, the Model STH-10B sirens at Smyrna Fire Station 3 and Belmont Circle and Windy Hill Road SE, and the Model ES-1000 on Ridge Road SE and Creatwood Trail SE.
Schedule
The SWOWS is tested on the 1st Wednesday of the month at 12:00 PM, presumably for under 4 minutes of alert like Cobb County, weather permitting. The sirens are routinely silently activated to ensure functionality. Smyrna will activate the sirens when a Tornado Watch is issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) for the Smyrna area, both a Tornado Watch and Severe Thunderstorm Warning are issued by the NWS for the Smyrna area, or a tornado has been sighted in the Smyrna area. The older iteration of the SWOWS network was tested every Saturday at 12:00 PM.