If you thought you heard emergency sirens Wednesday morning in Berrien County, your ears were not playing tricks on you. Berrien County’s Emergency Siren System went off inadvertently for 10 to 15 seconds during what was supposed to have been a routine “silent” test of the system. In a statement, Berrien County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Captain Rockey Adams says the system is checked weekly using a silent electrical pulse, but during that test, the audible alarm was accidentally activated. Adams says while it was unfortunate, he is “encouraged that people were paying attention to the system and appreciate that they called to let us know they heard the short sounding so we could evaluate the issue.” While regular monthly audible tests last about one minute, the sirens would sound for three to five minutes or longer in the event of a real emergency.
