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The Longmont Outdoor Emergency Warning System is tested on the first Monday of each month at 10am, April through August.The Outdoor Emergency Warning System (OEWS) consists of a series of public address speakers installed on top of poles located throughout the city. Other than for testing, the system will only be used to notify the community when immediate action should be taken. The sirens are OUTDOOR warning sirens and are designed to be heard OUTDOORS but you may hear a siren inside if you are near a siren location. The system is radio controlled by the Longmont Emergency Communications Center and operates on solar charged batteries. The system remains functional even in the event of a power failure or when phone lines are down.
If you hear the sirens, and it is not the first Monday of the month at 10am, seek shelter immediately and tune in to local media for detailed information. Any local television station and 850 KOA (AM) radio are good choices.
Please DO NOT CALL 911 following an OEWS activation unless you have an emergency. During disaster situations, it is critical to keep the 911 lines available for citizens who require immediate assistance.
The OEWS can be activated as a whole system, or any part of the system. This could be used to target a specific portion of the city. It also has a public address capability that can be used.
The OEWS is only one of the ways that citizens can be warned of an emergency. We also have an emergency callback system that can be activated for any geographic area of the city. This system will only call "land lines" that are tied to a physical address and will not contact cell phones or VIOP phones. We also have the ability to broadcast on the city cable network (Channels 3 and 16). These combine to give the city a robust emergency warning system that will allow us to contact as many people as possible.
The city recently launched an email based subscription called e-alert. Although this system is not intended for emergency notification, city personnel can use it to send email messages directly to subscribers with late-breaking updates on issues such as West Nile virus, traffic street closures, city council news and several other categories. For more information on e-alert.
Businesses should have emergency plans in place for all disasters. If your business needs assistance in preparing a plan, feel free to contact the City of Longmont Risk Management at 303.651.8720. For additional information, call the Longmont Fire Department at
651-8433 between the hours of 8am and 5pm.