Alerting & Warning Program

FCEM&HS coordinates the Franklin County Outdoor Warning Siren System.  The system consists of 196 outdoor warning sirens located throughout Franklin County.  The outdoor warning sirens alert residents who are outside with tones or a spoken message which can be transmitted for a natural or potential man-made hazards or threats.

When the National Weather Service (NWS) issues a Tornado Warning for Franklin County, FCEM&HS activates the outdoor warning siren system.  The system is activated based on 4 zones in the county aligning with the polygon activated by NWS. Once activated the outdoor warning sirens will sound with a tone for 3 minutes followed by 7 minutes of silence, this sequence will continue until the warning is canceled. To ensure functionality, the siren network is tested every Wednesday at noon.  If there is a threat of severe weather, the test is cancelled to avoid confusion. 

View Siren Activation Zones
Report a Siren Issue

In addition, ALERT Franklin County, a county-wide mass notification and warning system, is a vital component of the Alerting & Warning Program.  The system is managed by FCEM&HS and can be used to alert residents who opt in about man-made, natural, or technological threats or hazard that require actionable measures to be taken.

FCEM&HS, in collaboration with county jurisdictions, is authorized to send electronic alerts through a variety of paths including, the Emergency Alert System (EAS) as well as a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) without the need to subscribe to a service.   WEA or EAS messages are used to warn the public of an impending natural, man-made, or technogical hazard or threat.