Contractors are finishing up their installation of new severe weather sirens at county fire stations around Habersham County. These additions will bring the county’s count to more than a dozen weather sirens.
Habersham County Emergency Management Agency Director Lynn Smith was the driving force behind this major public safety initiative. She’s been working on it for two years.
“One of the captains at the fire station approached me and said that it had been a goal of his to have warning sirens at all the county fire stations,” Director Smith tells Now Habersham. “With that said, I applied for a grant through GEMA/FEMA to purchase and install eight sirens.”
Smith initiated the grant request before Habersham hired a grant writer. It took over a year to get the funding, but she succeeded. Combined, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded Habersham County the bulk of the funding for the $204,260 project.
The federal share was $183,834, the state share was $8,170.40. Habersham County’s local share was $12,255.60.
“So in other words, we got $204,260.00 worth of warning sirens for $12,255.60,” emphasizes Smith.
Now that the sirens are in place, Smith says they’re waiting on electricity to be run to a few of them. Once that occurs, “they will be fully operational.”
Outdoor warnings
Public safety officials caution that sirens are only meant to warn people who are outside to move indoors. Habersham and other communities across Northeast Georgia rely on smartphone apps and media outlets to keep residents informed in emergencies.
Still, the addition of these new sirens is expected to enhance Habersham’s public safety warning system significantly.
“By having these at the county fire stations, hopefully, they will reach areas where needed. We know that we can’t put up enough to cover the entire county, but we have spread out the ones we currently have to reach the most people while outside,” says Smith. “We want to reach as many people as possible, so they can get warning in advance.”
Habersham siren locations
New sirens are or will be located at the following locations:
- Station 9 – Hollywood
- Station 11 – Fairview
- Station 12 – View
- Station 13 – Habersham
- Station 14 – Glade Creek
- Station 15 – Macedonia
- Station 16 – Amys Creek
- Station 17 – Turnerville
Those sirens were purchased with the GEMA/FEMA grant. Sirens already in operation include the following locations:
- Habersham County Emergency Operations Center, Mt. Airy
- Habersham County Detention Center, Clarkesville
- Habersham County Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center, Clarkesville
- Tallulah Falls
- Habersham Central High School / Habersham Ninth Grade Academy, Mt. Airy
- Cornelia Water Treatment Plant, Cornelia (owned by the city)
- Baldwin (owned by the city)
Sirens are routinely tested during the noon hour on Wednesdays during good weather.
