By Nathan Ham
On Wednesday, February 2, at approximately 11:50 a.m., Appalachian State University will be conducting a complete system test for its emergency notification system. In addition to a siren test, the alert system will also send out a text message, voice message, email message and a message on the Alertus desktop notification system.
According to a notification from Appalachian State, the siren test will consist of a 75-second discontinuous air horn tone followed by a prerecorded voice message that says, “This is a test. This is a test of the emergency warning system. This is only a test.”
Once the test is completed, an all-clear activation will begin with a 20-second alert tone followed by a prerecorded voice message. An all-clear email will also be sent to campus accounts.
The AppState-ALERT siren warning system is designed to provide campus students, staff, faculty and visitors with an audible notification of an emergency event that affects campus.
Some of the reasons why the alert system would be activated outside of a standard system test would be for a situation involving an active shooter on or near campus, severe weather alerts such as a tornado warning and for alerts such as a chemical or hazardous material spill on or near campus.
Campus siren tests are typically conducted on the first Wednesday of each month. Other upcoming siren tests will be on March 2 and April 6.
Examples of the tones that will be used in an emergency or during tests can be heard by visiting App State’s Siren Warning System webpage.
More information about emergency preparedness at App State, including how to register for the mobile phone and email AppState-ALERT emergency notification system, is available on App State’s Emergency Preparedness website.
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