A group of Roan Mountain citizens wanting to make their community safer banded together to help get an emergency siren installed that can warn residents of severe weather.

“Due to recent flood activity and the Flood of 1998 along with the Doe Valley tornado in 2011, some Roan Mountain residents have shown interest in getting an emergency siren in place,” said Julie Guinn, a Roan Mountain resident who assisted in the project to get an emergency siren. “Through donations from businesses, private individuals and Mountain Electric Cooperative’s Operation Pocket Change we were able to obtain a used, reconditioned siren.”

The siren has been installed at the Roan Mountain Volunteer Fire Department station and is now operational, according to Guinn.

“We hope it will cover a two-mile radius, taking in the area at the Roan Highlands Nursing Center, the lower Hampton Creek area down to the lower sections of Crabtree near the Carter County Work Camp,” Guinn said. “These are the flood-prone areas, and hopefully will help in an emergency situation to get people to safety in a shorter span of time.”

Over the next few weeks, Guinn said the fire department will be testing the siren’s strength, the distance the warning will be heard, and different signal patterns for use in the event of an actual emergency. She said the testing will be conducted during different weather conditions as well.

“Please be patient as we conduct these tests,” Guinn said. “After the testing phase, this siren will only be tested once a month, and the public will be made aware of the signals and pattern.”

Guinn said the project to obtain and install the siren was successful thanks to the help of many people in the community.

“We would like to thank everyone who had a part in making this a reality,” Guinn said. “Terry and Katrina Profitt who were instrumental in finding this siren by spending hours online searching. Roger Whitehead for his machine work addition to the siren, and for all three being willing to take an unscheduled ‘road trip.’ Danny Potter for the electrical work, Jonathan Powell for his support and leadership, Napa Auto, T & E Wrecker and especially MEC.”

“Without everyone chipping in, we could not have achieved this goal,” she added. “We would also like to encourage citizens of Carter County that early warnings are the best. Carter County now has in place the emergency alert system. It’s free and easy to sign up.”

To sign up for emergency alerts through Everbridge, individuals can go to the county’s website www.cartercountytn.gov and select Emergency Management Agency from the Departments and Services menu under “Government.” Participants can select what notifications they would like to receive and also whether they would like to receive those alerts on their cell phone, a landline, by text, or by email.

For more information on receiving emergency alerts from the county’s Everbridge notification system, contact the Carter County Emergency Management Agency at 423-542-1888.