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Storm Siren Malfunctions; Alarms Residents

Reporter: Lily Wu

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Several Wichita residents woke to the sound of storm sirens overnight, however there was no threat of severe weather.

Randy Duncan, Sedgwick County Emergency Manager, said one siren near I-235 and Seneca malfunctioned a few times early Thursday morning.

While he was checking on the system around 5 a.m., the siren sounded again.

"It went off for a period of just under a minute, which is not the full length of a cycle. Typically, that's anywhere between three and five minutes. Again, I don't know why it activated because we didn't send the signal," said Duncan.

Some viewers notified KAKE News about the problem. Others said they called 911 to report a malfunction, or to confirm severe weather was not in the area.

"We kind of thought, 'well maybe it could be a tornado, it could be some more severe weather,' so we kind of took precautions. The kids were a little scared," said Matt Riddle, a resident near the siren.

Duncan said the siren has since been turned off. Technicians are working to determine what caused the siren to malfunction.