Siren will sound today as Western practices emergency preparedness

London Community News

As the people of Louisiana start recovery efforts following the wrath of tropical storm Isaac, Western University has implemented a new preparedness tool to ensure students, staff, faculty and members of its greater community receive the earliest possible warning in case of an imminent weather emergency. Western has installed a city-first emergency weather siren on the roof of Alumni Hall, which will be tested live on Tuesday (Sept. 4) as 5,000 new students gather for a purposely intense safety demonstration. The demonstration, which includes a live burn of a full-size dorm room, will begin at noon on University Hill.  This emergency preparedness/safe campus event is part of Western's Orientation Week activities. The emergency siren, which will last less than five minutes, will be tested immediately following the live burn and will be heard across campus and into the immediate surrounding communities. A second complete emergency preparedness/safe campus event with signal test and live burn is scheduled for later in the day at approximately 4 p.m.