Oak Lawn Tornado Sirens Back On Line After Being Down All Week

OAK LAWN, IL — Just in time for Thursday’s severe weather risk, the Oak Lawn Regional Emergency Communications Center’s tornado sirens are now back on line. The malfunction in the warning system came to light when the warning system failed to activate during routine testing the first Tuesday of the month.

Technicians have been servicing the system all week to ensure that remote activation equipment is functioning properly in all OLREC communities, which include Oak Lawn, Evergreen Park, Alsip, Burbank, Bridgeview and Hodgkins.

A full system test was conducted successfully Wednesday afternoon, for all you who heard the sirens activate after keeping up with the saga on social media.

The current siren system was purchased with a $120,000 grant in 2013, to replace Oak Lawn’s then 25-year-old system. The American Signal Corporation outdoor emergency warning system was designed to give area residents the earliest advance warning possible to help the village be better prepared for tornadoes and other emergencies.

Among the then-new system’s features were better sound coverage and voice capabilities to relay warning messages in four languages, including English, Spanish, Polish and Arabic. The American Signal Corps. system could also be activated remotely from police and fire emergency vehicles, the emergency communications center, and Oak Lawn Fire Station #3 on 93rd Street.

During the time the emergency warning system was down, OLREC officials assured residents that the sirens could still be activated manually if necessary.