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Good grief! I just had a "Jericho" moment....

Thomas Veil

Thomas Veil

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Feb 14, 2004
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Much greener pastures
1:05 am. I -- and the entire rest of my city -- are awakened by early warning sirens. They are going off, wailing, and not stopping. And they are very loud.

Now, the main intent of these sirens is to warn people of an impending tornado or other "take cover" disaster. So, waking up at 1 in the morning and not hearing any wind at all -- and still having Jericho uppermost in my mind -- it's not too hard to think "impending nuclear strike".

They are tied to the county Emergency Management System, which is tied into Homeland Security, of course.

Good grief. As I'm writing this at 1:47 am, they're going off again!

Okay, I know what the real reason is: malfunction. This has happened once before. These things are triggered by a radio frequency, and on one previous occasion, a nearby community set off our alarms during a test of their system. But still. ;)

So how am I supposed to go back to sleep after this? :D
 
Thomas Veil said:
1:05 am. I -- and the entire rest of my city -- are awakened by early warning sirens. They are going off, wailing, and not stopping. And they are very loud.

Now, the main intent of these sirens is to warn people of an impending tornado or other "take cover" disaster. So, waking up at 1 in the morning and not hearing any wind at all -- and still having Jericho uppermost in my mind -- it's not too hard to think "impending nuclear strike".

They are tied to the county Emergency Management System, which is tied into Homeland Security, of course.

Good grief. As I'm writing this at 1:47 am, they're going off again!

Okay, I know what the real reason is: malfunction. This has happened once before. These things are triggered by a radio frequency, and on one previous occasion, a nearby community set off our alarms during a test of their system. But still. ;)

So how am I supposed to go back to sleep after this? :D
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Jericho, as in the video game, right? Can't say that I haven't had similar experiences after extended gaming sessions. At least in my area the only thing I have to worry about are earthquakes, which aren't very bad to begin with. I'd pull out the iPod or play more games. :)
 
Tilpots said:
You should start a war with your local "New Bern" and string up the party responsible for the alarm!:D
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Heh heh. We do have a local version of New Bern, but I doubt they're the responsible party.

As it turns out, the city contacted the alarm manufacturer and was apparently told it could be one of two things: (1) a stray radio signal "skipping" in the atmosphere, or (2) someone deliberately and maliciously setting them off.

Is (2) possible? Yes, but I don't want to say more because I work for the city myself and do not want to compromise the investigation that is going on, no matter how unlikely it is that a possible perpetrator is reading this thread.

Somebody might still get strung up, after all. ;)
 
Thomas Veil said:
As it turns out, the city contacted the alarm manufacturer and was apparently told it could be one of two things: (1) a stray radio signal "skipping" in the atmosphere, or (2) someone deliberately and maliciously setting them off.
I hope it's the former and not the latter.

What kind of person would set off an emergency alarm for a whole town!? Talk about needing some attention... Anyway, good luck with the investigation.
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