Not everyone in Albert Lea can hear the city’s emergency sirens when tornadoes and damaging storms are approaching.

Friday, August 31, 2001

Not everyone in Albert Lea can hear the city’s emergency sirens when tornadoes and damaging storms are approaching. But five new sirens placed strategically on the outskirts of the city should solve the problem, said Albert Lea Fire Chief Rich Sydnes.

&uot;The city has grown with new housing on the edges of the city, but our siren system hasn’t grown with it,&uot; Sydnes said. &uot;We think five more units will take care of it.&uot;

Sydnes said the city has considered adding sirens in the past, but usually postponed the project because of expense. But the city was able to finance the sirens this year by using interest earnings from the $11 million police and fire pension fund rebate.

Sydnes said the city appropriated $100,000 for the purchase and installation of the new sirens.

&uot;They’re pretty expensive – we’re looking into different models and installation options,&uot; he said.

Federal Warning Systems, the Rochester company that supplies the sirens, has determined approximate locations for the units:

n Pickerel Lake near Wedgewood Drive

n Northern tip of Edgewater Bay just off Highway 13

n Bancroft area near the Good Samaritan Center

n On or near the Home Depot site just off County Road 46

n South end of the I-90 bridge over Albert Lea Lake.

Sydnes said those sites are approximate locations. Surveyors will determine exact sites, taking into consideration elevations and structures. The sirens will be mounted on power poles about 50 feet above ground, but Sydnes said some could be even higher.

According to Dan Gossman of Federal Warning Systems, new sirens have both electrical power and a powerful battery pack in case of power outages. Gossman said many cities in Minnesota are looking for ways to avoid situations like the tornado that struck Glenville May 1, knocking out power and disabling the town’s early warning system.

If any of the $100,000 appropriation is left after installation of the new sirens, Sydnes said it could be used to repair or upgrade some of the city’s older sirens, particularly the rotating units called Federal Thunderbolts – 1950s-era rotating sirens installed for civil defense.