On the first Tuesday of every month, you may hear the test of our community outdoor emergency siren system.

You may think nothing of this test on a clear and sunny day, but it is important to understand how the outdoor sirens and other means of notification work during real emergencies.

Here are some quick facts and recommendations to keep you safe during a weather emergency:

• The City of Geneva tests our sirens at 10 a.m. on the first Tuesday of the month unless there is a severe weather forecast. In that case, the test is postponed.
• The City has six sirens strategically located throughout Geneva so that anyone outside can hear the warnings and take appropriate actions as needed.
• The emergency warning sirens are intended to be heard by people outdoors, not indoors.
• You should always have a secondary means of receiving severe weather alerts, especially indoors. These include purchasing a NOAA Weather/All-Hazards Radio for your home or business, and enabling public safety and emergency alerts on your smartphone.
• Each community has its own criteria for using the siren. Geneva residents living near our borders may hear sirens from neighboring municipalities even if Geneva does not activate our sirens.
• The Geneva sirens may not sound if severe weather is not predicted to hit our area. The Geneva Fire, Police, and Emergency Services agencies work together during each severe weather event to ensure timely and accurate emergency siren activations occur as warranted.

Neighboring communities, the National Weather Service alerts and smartphone weather apps may notify you before our sirens because they are tracking larger areas where a weather system may not yet present a clear and present danger to Geneva.

If you are looking for more information, the National Weather Service - Quad Cities has an excellent article that covers community alert sirens in more detail.

Mike Antenore

Fire Chief