Aug 30, 2007 11:38 am US/Central
Duluth Upgrading Its Emergency Warning System
Duluth, Minn. (AP) ―
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A $750,000 U.S. Homeland Security Department grant will pay for most of the work. The city's $250,000 match is included in this year's budget. (File)
The city will spend about $1 million to upgrade its emergency warning system from a series of rusted yellow sirens to a system with cameras and loudspeakers capable of giving verbal warnings.
"This is a good day. We were in dire need of a new system," said Duluth Fire Chief John Strongitharm, adding that it's a constant struggle to keep the current system working.
The new system will also give local crime fighters and the U.S. Coast Guard another tool. They will be able to monitor the cameras through a Web site that will be closed to the public, Strongitharm said.
"Just getting the word out there (about any potential threats) will be beneficial," Duluth Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said Wednesday.
Most of the state-of-the-art system would be aimed at the port and its docks and bridges along the St. Louis River and the city's harbor on Lake Superior. It's focus will be severe weather, hazardous spills and criminal and terrorist activity.
Strongitharm said that while Duluth may be low on any terrorist target list, its the port is important to the national economy.
A $750,000 U.S. Homeland Security Department grant will pay for most of the work. The city's $250,000 match is included in this year's budget, he said.
Unlike the old system, the new system will permit emergency management officials to pinpoint threats and specify areas needing attention. For example, they could use it to tell beachgoers not to swim if there are deadly rip currents, he said.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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