‘It sounded like a horror movie’: Wisconsin residents react to hours-long tornado siren malfunction

By Megan Lee

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    PORT WASHINGTON, Wisconsin (WTMJ) — There was a tornado siren malfunction in Port Washington on Tuesday. Residents reported hearing the alarming sound at least two separate times.

“It sounded like a horror movie,” Rickey Tartaglia said.

Tartaglia heard the sirens shortly after 2:00 Tuesday afternoon outside of his work. He said the sirens lasted about two hours.

“It sounded very annoying. It was almost scary. It sounded like the purge,” Tartaglia said.

The alarming noise typically warns people of weather emergencies.

However, Ozaukee County Emergency Management posted on Facebook that the Port Washington sirens going off were errors.

“The Outdoor Warning Sirens in Port Washington are the responsibility of the City. They are owned by the city and the management and maintenance is their responsibility. Ozaukee County dispatch only has the ability to make them sound during a tornado warning. We do know that the failure causing this is not within the controls at dispatch. It is somewhere in the cities system. We have not been given any information on when the sirens will be shut down or how long repairs may be. Check the City of Port Washington’s Facebook or the Port Washington Police Facebook page for updates.”

“It was kind of going on all day,” Port Washington resident, Todd Stowell said.

Stowell was one of many neighbors who heard the alarming sound.

“Nothing really exciting happens in Port Washington. I was like, ‘Huh, what’s going on?'” Stowell said.

The Port Washington Police Department alerted residents to stop calling dispatch as the city worked to fix the problem.

PWPD posted this statement on Facebook:

“We at the police department are aware that the tornado siren on the west end of the City is actively going off. A call for service has been made and we hope it can be rectified soon. Unfortunately, this activation is of no fault to anyone turning it on; therefore, can not just be turned off. We ask that you do not call Dispatch or the Police to notify us that the siren is active and have patience with the process.”

“I mean we’re a pretty quiet, quiet town. A little noise goes a long way around here,” Stowell explained.

TMJ4 reached out to the city for a comment on the incident and didn’t hear back yet.

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