The tornado sirens went off in Port Washington on Tuesday, but there was no severe weather
If you're a resident of Port Washington, chances are on Tuesday you heard Port Washington's tornado sirens go off.
You might have also realized there were no tornadoes around to take you to the Land of Oz.
According to the official Ozaukee County Emergency Management Facebook page, the sirens began sounding around 9 a.m. There was no weather emergency at the time.
"City of Port Washington residents. The Outdoor Warning Sirens that sounded at approx. 9am were in error," Ozaukee County Emergency Management said in its post. "There is no weather emergency requiring any action on your part. Technicians are looking for the issue that caused them to sound."
Despite efforts from city officials, by 2 p.m., the sirens were still going off. Facebook commenters on the post said that the sirens had begun blaring again despite the attempts to shut them off.
This prompted emergency management officials to release another post on social media specifying that the sirens in Port Washington are the responsibility of the city.
"The Outdoor Warning Sirens in Port Washington are the responsibility of the City," Ozaukee County Emergency Management said in the Facebook post. "They are owned by the city and the management and maintenance is their responsibility."
The department also encouraged the community to watch for updates on the City of Port Washington and Port Washington Police Department Facebook pages.
There were also numerous calls made to the police station and City Hall regarding the sirens' constant sound, Port Washington Police Chief Kevin Hingiss said.
The number of calls prompted the Port Washington Police Department to issue a post on Facebook, which was shared by the official City of Port Washington Facebook page.
"We at the police department are aware that the tornado siren on the west end of the City is actively going off. A call for service has been made and we hope it can be rectified soon," the police said in their post. "Unfortunately this activation is of no fault to anyone turning it on; therefore, can not just be turned off. We ask that you do not call Dispatch or the Police to notify us that the siren is active and have patience with the process."
The sirens were finally silenced around 4 p.m.
Why did the sirens continue to go off without warning?
Port Washington Police Chief Kevin Hingiss said the reason for why the alarms went off is still unknown.
How did the sirens get turned off?
The sirens could not be manually shut off, Hingiss said. The power to them had to be directly cut off to silence them. "They are decommissioned, but we have new ones," he said.
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