UNC’s new emergency siren system is in place and will undergo additional testing this semester, University officials said.
The four sirens are designed to alert those in the area of an emergency situation.
Shaped like a stack of large, off-white discs, they are mounted on 50-foot-tall poles at three locations on the main campus and one other University-owned site.
The sirens will sound in case of a tornado, an “armed and dangerous person” or a major chemical spill or other hazard in the area, according to the Alert Carolina Web site.
“Basically these are one item in a menu of communication devices to be employed in the event of a threat to campus,” said Randy Young, spokesman for UNC’s Department of Public Safety.
He said the sirens, which are designed to be heard outside within a one-quarter to one-half mile range, emit both an alarm sound and announcements giving instructions to those in the area, typically to go indoors and remain there until the all-clear.
Another siren and announcement will signal that the danger has passed.
“They’re certainly a salient signal,” Young said, adding that he was able to hear several sirens at once during a Winter Break test.
Sirens are located at Hinton James Residence Hall; behind the Dogwood parking deck; at the corner of Raleigh Street and South Road at Winston Residence Hall; and at University-supported facilities on Airport Drive off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
