Warning sirens to speak during Friday’s testing

IU Police Department Sgt. Craig Munroe’s voice won’t be any different than it usually is. But on Friday, it will be heard all over Bloomington.\n“It’s just like talking on the radio,” he said. “It does not intimidate me in the least. Right when I click that microphone it might. Hopefully all goes well.”\nAt noon on Friday, the traditional monthly emergency warning signal will be broadcast as usual. But at the end of the siren’s wail, a human voice, Munroe’s, will speak over the intercom to help introduce a new technique to warn against other emergencies that may not be related to severe weather or tornadoes.\nThe voice message siren system will be tested to see how well human commands can be conveyed during a time of emergency if people are outdoors and not by a phone or Internet connection, said Kirk White, IU director of Community Relations.\nInterim Provost and President-elect Michael McRobbie requested a test of this system at a meeting recently. The April shootings at Virginia Tech prompted discussion in the Bloomington and IU communities to use the voice activation system. The system has been in place for quite awhile, White said, but has never been used prior to this test because of the adequate nature of the siren notifications. \n“This will allow us to adjust the system and make modifications by doing this ahead of time,” White said of the voice warning system. \nIU Police Department Capt. Jerry Minger said using the voice system was once considered when a tank ruptured and hazardous materials were slowly being blown to the Bloomington area. \nMinger said due to the recent shootings at Virginia Tech, people have been re-evaluating notification systems – systems once thought to be accurate. \nTo evaluate the effectiveness of the system, Minger said representatives from the IU Office of Risk Management will be placed at various locations around campus to see if people can hear the voice message signals under the various environmental factors throughout the community. \nThe Whelen system contains the ability to host voices instead of just sirens, Minger said. There are four locations in Monroe County; one at 10th and Jefferson (near Eigenmann Hall), one at the IU Cyclotron Facility, one at the Monroe County Justice Building and one at the Bloomington Township Fire Department. \nIf there is success from the voice system to convey emergency notifications, White said the system will hopefully be used in the future to prevent emergencies.