GATESVILLE, Texas (KXXV) — A glitch in Gatesville's outdoor alert sirens has left residents unsure whether they’re facing an actual emergency or just another malfunction. City officials said they are working to resolve the issue, which has become a growing concern.
“I understand the concern,” Brad Hunt, city manager of Gatesville, said. “You’re on a cloudy day, and the alarm goes off. We don’t want to have multiple false alarms when there is not a threat, a tornado, or a flood.”
Hunt emphasized that repeated false alarms could lead to “cry-wolf syndrome,” where residents begin ignoring the sirens, even when a real threat is present.
“We don’t want folks to be getting that cry-wolf-syndrome, where it’s, ‘OK, the siren’s going off again,’ and this time it’s a real alert,” Hunt said.
The city’s alert system dates back to the 1980s, and funding issues have prevented upgrades until now. Hunt said the malfunction has accelerated the city's timeline to address the problem.
The cost to repair the current system is around $87,000. However, Gatesville is looking to upgrade to a system similar to the one used at Fort Hood, which could cost as much as $200,000.
“They do an audible alert, and then a voice message comes across to tell you what the threat is and what actions are immediately necessary,” Hunt said.
Hunt noted that the current siren system is not easy to interpret. Different lengths and patterns of siren bursts are meant to represent different threats, but it’s not always clear what each pattern signifies.
“It’s not, I think, logical to expect me or you or anyone to know that a short burst of a siren is a tornado, a longer burst with two dots is a flood, and a long burst and whatever else is another type of threat,” Hunt said.
For now, city officials are focused on finding funding to fix the issue.
“We are aware that false alarms are not OK,” Hunt said. “We do not want them to happen. It’s an antiquated system, and we do know the cost of repairing that. It’s now a matter of getting that funding to do so.”
In the meantime, Hunt urges residents to stay weather aware by monitoring weather apps or websites and ensuring that weather alerts are activated on their devices.
