The digital alerting of all newly built sirens is already working. However, there is still work to be done in 2025: Tetra alerting of the new sirens and the two school sirens at the St. Hubertus elementary school in Kevelaer and St. Franziskus elementary school in Twisteden will not start until next year. The new technology enables the control center in Kleve to receive feedback via the installed FRT radio as to whether the siren was triggered as planned. This technology was a basic requirement for funding the project. The control center in Kleve has promised its support for the end of the first quarter of 2025, so that all sirens can then be programmed accordingly to ensure that they work properly.
A detailed public address overview was used to determine which locations were particularly suitable. On this basis, old analog sirens were replaced by modern digital systems and additional locations were developed to ensure optimum coverage. As a result, the sirens can now be found on fire station buildings, on some elementary school or municipal buildings as well as on masts outside the villages.
Funding was generated for all sirens. Heinz Tepest, an employee of the Kevelaer public order office and deputy head of the fire brigade, was responsible for the tender for the sirens and worked closely with funding manager Michael Simons and the municipal building management department. The technical implementation was carried out by the external companies Helin and Safus.
"I am delighted that the project is almost complete at the end of the year. The new sirens are very important for disaster and civil protection, as they are used as an important means of alerting the population," says Mayor Dr. Dominik Pichler about the completed project.
Public sirens are procured, installed, operated and maintained by the municipalities as the local authorities.
Siren warning signals:
Warning of danger
- Signal: An ascending and descending wailing tone, 1 minute long
- Action: Warning! Seek shelter indoors immediately, close windows and doors, switch on the radio (local station) or warning apps such as NINA or Katwarn for further information.
All-clear
- Signal: One continuous continuous tone, 1 minute long
- Action: All-clear! The previous protective measures can be lifted.