Documents

Key Documents

The history of outdoor warning sirens began with church bells used to warn the local population about an urgent need such as fire or flood. These then transition to the early civil defense sirens which were used to warn the public of impending attack. From there they expanded to include weather warnings for tornadoes. It wasn’t until the near disaster at Three-Mile Island that federal regulations governing siren systems were developed. Today, the only regulatory information for sirens all pertain to nuclear power plants. While these regulations are specific to that industry, the guidance provided is based on best practices which can and should be used for other siren applications. Below is a list of the most important documents, both technical and regulatory, that deal with outdoor warning sirens.