Springfield, IL
| Springfield Warning System | |
 T-128 located at Veterans and Lindbergh. | |
| Type | Municipal |
|---|---|
| Location | Springfield, Illinois |
| Date installed | August - December 2006 |
| Status | Active |
| Testing dates | First Tuesday of the month |
| Testing times | 10:00 AM |
The Springfield Warning System is a system comprising of 57 T-128s. The system covers the city of Springfield and several other communities. The sirens are activated by the Springfield Fire Department in Springfield.
History
First Sirens
In late 1956, the City of Springfield purchased and installed 4 Thunderbolt 1000s throughout Springfield. The four locations included the Allis-Chalmers plant, DuBois Elementary School, the Pillsbury Plant and the Stratton Building. When tested on January 26, 1957, the sirens were barely audible in some parts of the city but it had the right effect.[1]
System Expansion
As the city expanded, the need for sirens also grew. The system was mainly comprised of SD-10s supplemented with Thunderbolts. The system also had a Model 2T, several Model 3s, a Model 7 as well as several Darley models of the previously mentioned sirens. In later years, the system was expanded with several EOWS-612s, 7 2001-SRNs and older sirens purchased from auctions. Matthew Stanley from The Siren Archive has photos of a few of the sirens through out Springfield. These can be viewed on The Siren Archive under the Sangamon County category.
Downfall of the System
Over the years, the city never bothered to implement maintenance plans. The effects of this poor planning was brought to life in 1989 when the city confessed that a Thunderbolt on Stevenson Drive was dead for over 3 years and that they had a replacement for 2.5 years but didn't have the funds to install it.[2] During the March 1st, 2005 siren test, the city stationed persons at each of the sirens only to find out that 30 of the 54 sirens did not activate.[3] Within a month, the city was able to get all but 2 sirens functioning. Most of the failures were due to trees blocking the antennas on the sirens.
On March 12, 2006, a pair of twin F2 tornadoes struck the city. The sirens worked fine for the first storm but it knocked out power to roughly 90% of the city. When a second storm hit later that night, only a handful of the newer sirens with battery backup or undamaged sirens that still had power sounded.[4]
After the Storm
After the tornadoes silenced the sirens, the city began planning to replace the sirens.
New Sirens
Originally, the city went to Federal for offers on a new siren system. In the end, the city signed a $983,000 contract with Wireless USA for a new system of 57 ASC T-128s with battery back up and computer control to be installed. By the end of November, the new siren system was installed and tested with the old system dismantled.[5]
Old Sirens
The story of the old siren system doesn't end at them getting removed. In June 2006, the City Council declared the old sirens to be surplus property. On March 12, 2007, then Mayor Davlin donated the usable SD-10s to surrounding communities. The communities that received the sirens included Chatham, Curran, Riverton, Spaulding and Virden. Many of the sirens where badly damaged during removal and storage and those sirens were destroyed.[6][7] The only known SD-10 in Chatham was replaced in 2011 and the plans to install the siren in Curran died due to costs and no tornado safe area for the residents.
In 2011, the remaining old sirens were auctioned off. For photos of the old sirens at the city lot, one can refer to the Siren Board post.
Over the years, posts on the forum have popped up about the old sirens and can be see on the Poorly Maintained Sirens thread or this post.
Miscellaneous
Some odds and ends that don't fit anywhere above.
Fun Facts
- The original 4 air raid sirens were Thunderbolt 1000s and 2 of the 4 still remain in Springfield.
- The downtown 1000T still stands alebit hornless.
- The remaining Thunderbolts were a mix of single phase and three phase.
Media
- Municipal Center Thunderbolt 1000T (The Stratton Building Thunderbolt can also be heard around 0:22)
- SD-10 Activation On March 12, 2006 (Also contains audio of the Stratton Building Thunderbolt)
- EOWS-612 Test
References
- ↑ "Sound off -- The Visual Journal". The State Journal-Register. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ↑ "CITY'S SILENT SIRENS IN SHABBY SHAPE". The State Journal-Register. 26 May 1989. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ↑ "More than half of Springfield sirens fail to sound". The State Journal-Register. 5 March 2005. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
- ↑ "Storm silences sirens". The State Journal-Register. 14 March 2006. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ↑ "NEW CITY TORNADO SIRENS ARE FULLY OPERATIONAL". The City of Springfield. 28 November 2006. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ↑ "MAYOR DAVLIN DONATES TORNADO SIRENS TO NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES ON ANNIVERSARY OF TWIN TORNADOES". The City of Springfield. 12 March 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ↑ "Road trip to Springfield IL, and some new toys". The Siren Board. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2017.