Decatur, GA

Decatur, GA
The ASC T-121 at Winnona Park from below. Photograph taken by Aaron Price (lc08).
Type	City
Location	Decatur, GA
Date installed	2009 (old system) 2018 (new system)
Status	Active
Testing dates	1st Wednesday
Testing times	12:00 PM

Decatur is a city and the county seat of DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 24,928 in the 2020 census. Decatur is served by 6 American Signal Corporation Tempest Model T-121 sirens—succeeding 4 older Whelen Engineering VORTEXR4 sirens—as well as a singular Whelen OmniAlert OA4 owned by Agnes Scott College.

History

Prior to the 2000s, Decatur had no siren system of its own. Records apparently indicate that Decatur had (a) siren/s as early as 1945; what exactly these were is unknown, and they were likely owned by Atlanta. Decatur may have also gotten sirens in 1953, when 10 out of 25 BNCO Mobil Directo Model BN44Gs purchased by Atlanta were installed in DeKalb County. In 1963, a Federal Sign & Signal Thunderbolt Model 1000T was installed on top of the Dekalb County Administration Building in downtown Decatur in late 1963. This was the only roof mounted siren in the system.

The Calloway Building Thunderbolt 1000T in 1977.

It was eventually relocated to the Callaway Building in 1977 after the administration building was demolished. The siren was gone by 1989 when DeKalb disbanded their siren network and was most likely relocated to Cobb County. Decatur would remain without sirens until 2009, when they installed 4 solar-powered Whelen Engineering VORTEXR4 sirens, which cost $108,510 and were funded by a FEMA mitigation grant. These sirens were located at Glennwood, Westchester, Winnona Park and Oakhurst Elementary Schools, which were chosen due to being located in each quadrant of the downtown portion of the city. A Whelen OmniAlert OA4, owned by Agnes Scott College, would also be tied into this system, with Decatur having access to it in case of severe weather events; weather this siren was installed prior to the VORTEXR4s or alongside them is unclear.

A Whelen VORTEXR4 and ASC T-121 side by side.

In November of 2017, the siren located at Oakhurst Elementary was damaged by a lightning strike, frying the siren's controls and drivers. This siren, despite being reported to the DeKalb County Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) and an apparent work order to have it fixed, remained inactive for several months, with the disconnect switch in the off position and power to the siren cut. This unit apparently had issues prior to the lightning strike, failing to activate for a test of the system on August 2nd, 2017. According to a local, the siren had been having problems since May or June of 2017. Unfortunately, while the VORTEXR4s worked well, the system was not without its issues; drivers blowing out and other mechanical issues were prevalent, which proved to be a financial burden on DEMA. Ultimately, the decision was made by Decatur and DEMA in early 2018 to replace and overhaul Decatur's existing system, with ASC being contracted to install a system of 4 new "maintenance-free" T-121s to replace the Whelens.

The Whelen OA4 owned by Agnes Scott College.

The OA4 at Agnes Scott College would be spared from replacement and would remain active. Decatur's choice was likely influenced by the installation of several T-121s in 2014 in the nearby city of Duluth, which was looking to replace their own aging system of VORTEXes. These new sirens would be installed on April 4th, 2018, alongside 2 more T-121s at the Decatur Police Department building and United Methodist Children's Home. Both the T-121s and the VORTEXR4s they were intended to replace coexisted for a short period of time, with the VORTEXR4s undergoing their final routine test on May 2nd, 2018. The old sirens were disconnected following this and promptly removed, while the T-121s were first activated for a routine test on June 14th, 2018; there had apparently been delays in commissioning the system prior to that point.

Since then, Decatur's T-121 and OA4 system has seen a relatively uneventful service life, with very few (though not 0) mishaps or accidental activations since its installation. Humorously, on April 1st, 2020, the T-121 at Glennwood Elementary continued to sound for around 10 minutes after the test that day had ended, and all other sirens had shut off; this occurrence was chalked up to be the result of a welded relay and the siren was promptly fixed. Decatur's sirens have thankfully ever only had to activate for a real emergency very few times, but they will likely continue to protect the community for years to come.

Schedule

Decatur's system is tested on the 1st Wednesday of the month at 5:00 PM in 1 minute of the "steady" tone, which is also utilized for severe weather events. If the weather is inclement on the first Wednesday of the month, the test will be postponed until the following day, the first Thursday of the month. The sirens will be activated if the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning for the Decatur area or when a tornado is spotted by a member of the public safety staff. The sirens will sound for 3 to 5 minutes per issued warning. The sirens are activated by the Decatur Police Department.