'Wow that is crazy, I mean that’s nuts. Mansfield purchases 4 tornado sirens after discovering they had none.
MANSFIELD, Ohio — While some communties have decided to get rid of tornado sirens in recent years, Richland County is doing the opposite.
"There are still many individuals that rely on those sirens," said Rebecca Owens, the county's Emergency Management Agency director.
"Some communities feel that the sirens are very antiquated, and they are to an extent. However, we have a large portion of the county that is very rural," said Owens.
Owens said there are 44 sirens in the in the county that are under the umbrella of the county's responsibility and said the county has spent over $50,000 trying to get 28 of those sirens back up to full function.
The county is also in the process of changing the sirens over to a digital system, which will cost $190,000. That would make them more reliable, according to Owens.
The City of Mansfield is also investing in tornado sirens for the first time.
"Wow that is crazy, I mean that's nuts," said Henry Spenard who has lived off Hanley Avenue for 24 years.
Spenard said he has seen an increase in severe storms in recent years. "We haven't had many over the years and traditionally they don't come up this far, but man they are starting to and those tornado sirens would be precious," said Spenard.
Mayor Jodie Perry told News 5 she was unaware there were no sirens in Mansfield until a tornado rolled through three years ago.
"I had some peace of mind not hearing them, not realizing that, we didn't have them in the first place," said Perry, who added that with the help of American Rescue Act Funds, the City of Mansfield will buy four new sirens.
"We have nearly 50,000 people who live in the city," said Perry. "So a community of this size to not have tornado sirens when we know there are tornadoes in our community, just seems like it's something that we need to prioritize."
The mayor says each siren will cover a mile radius, and although they won't cover the entire city, they will take care of most of it until the city can buy additional sirens.
