The Village of Arlington Heights notified citizens of an inadvertent activation of the emergency sirens today. At approximately 2:45 p.m. on October 31, the emergency sirens in Arlington Heights were inadvertently activated by Northwest Central Dispatch Systems.
At the time the sirens were activated, there was no emergency situation. The Village of Arlington Heights stated that they regretted any inconvenience caused to our residents.
The tone activated was the tornado signal, which is the steady, non-wailing tone. Maintenance work was being done in Palatine, when a request for a “cancel” signal coincided with activation of the sirens, which were activated accidentally in Arlington Heights, Palatine, and Prospect Heights.
The Village of Arlington Heights also used the Emergency Alert Program powered by “everbridge” to notify residents who are registered with the program. A recorded telephone message provided the information that the sirens were inadvertently activated.
Tomorrow, November 1, 2011, is the first Tuesday of the month, which is the scheduled monthly day for a test of the emergency siren. The siren is tested at 10:00 a.m.
Also, the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) will occur on Wednesday, November 9th at 1pm (2pm Eastern Time) and may last up to three and a half minutes. The public will hear a message indicating that “This is a test.” The audio message will be the same for radio, television, and cable (See more The Cardinal Area Participating in First Nationwide Emergency Alert Test).
Residents can sign up for the Emergency Alert Program “Powered by Everbridge” at the following Everbridge.net link that is referred by the Village of Arlington Heights on vah.com …
https://ww2.everbridge.net/citizen/EverbridgeGateway.action?body=home&gis_alias_id=160741
The Cardinal — Arlingtoncardinal.com cellphone received a notification from the Village of Arlington Heights via Everbridge about the inadvertent activation at 4:48 p.m. CDT.
Use Facebook and let us know what time you got your phone call if you were a registered to received emergency notifications. Write on the Wall at Facebook.com/CardinalEmergencies
FILE VIDEO/AUDIO: Tornado warning about 2:45 p.m. on August 8, 2007. The warning expired at 3:30 p.m. — right about the same time as the estimated arrival of the storm for Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Stay informed with news from The Cardinal’s Emergencies Behind the Scenes Facebook page — Facebook.com/CardinalEmergencies. Includes links to favorite public safety and emergency rescuers and product manufacturers and safety companies that have facebook pages. Submit your pictures or just stay up-to-date on with fire, rescue, EMS and police photo galleries. Please add your public safety photo to the wall album — go direct to the Arlington Cardinal Emergencies Behind the Scenes photos. For a list of all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages, go to Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Sounds like the phone call came a little late!