Sunoco Siren

[surfdog]

Heard the siren was going off tonight.

Sunoco HES Report - Overview

If it had been noon yesterday, that would have been Sunoco's monthly siren test.

from ReadyNotifyPA alert9481@phila.alertpa.org
to Recipient <rsan@phila.alertpa.org>
date Sat, Nov 5, 2011 at 10:00 AM
subject Sunoco Community Alerting Siren System Monthly Test
mailed-by phila.alertpa.org
hide details Nov 5 (1 day ago)
The Sunoco Community Alerting Siren System will be tested today at 12:00 Noon.

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[surfdog]

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Yahoo! Groups

http://www.phillyblog.com/philly/uni...se-sirens.html

Community Siren Alert System
The Philadelphia Refinery's Community Alert Siren System will be coming online in 2006. A major effort will be launched along side the Sirens to educate and inform residents about Sheltering-in-Place in the event of an incident at the refinery or surrounding area that would affect the community. The Philadelphia Refinery Community Advisory Panel has had significant involvement in the development of the system and members have served on the subcommittee that developed the educational materials.

Sunoco HES Report - Overview

[westisthebest]

Even with all of those links we still don't know what is going on when those alarms go off.

[seand]

Yes. Something is going on that is terrifying enough to justify an alarm that wakes you up in the middle of the night but we have decided its not quite important enough to tell you what exactly it is we woke you up over. So just go back to sleep now.

Very reassuring.

[Jayfar]

"This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. The broadcasters of your area in voluntary cooperation with the Federal, State and local authorities have developed this system to keep you informed in the event of an emergency. If this had been an actual emergency, you would all be dead now. This station serves the Philadelphia area. This concludes this test of the Emergency Broadcast System."

[mixiboi]

If it doesn't go off, then you should worry. But here are reasons why it goes off(Besides the monthly test)

The “Sunoco Refinery Alerts” group will be used when an incident has a public impact, whether or not it is an emergency. Public impact is defined as an incident that may cause odors, noises, or visuals that are not normally present in the community. The group will also be utilized to provide alerts about unusual events or activation of the siren system. Alerts may be sent in anticipation of or during an incident. For example, an alert may be sent in advance of construction activity or during the release of an odor.


Safety shield

Sunoco urges families to practice shelter-in-place - just like they would a fire drill:

Upon hearing the siren, do not panic. Go inside immediately.

Close all doors and windows in your home.

Turn off air conditioner/heat or any system bringing air into the house.

Go to the room with the fewest windows and doors and seal it. Use a damp towel, duct tape or plastic sheeting to seal off windows.

Tune a radio to KYW 1060 AM and await instructions. It is important to stay off the phone during an emergency so lines needed by fire and police are clear.

Wait for the"all clear" broadcast. This will announce the end of the emergency, at which time doors and windows can be opened and a person can go outside.

To prepare in advance, create an emergency kit that includes drinking water, towels, pre-cut plastic sheeting, a flashlight with extra batteries, a portable battery-operated radio, two rolls of duct tape, scissors and a first aid kit.

[Gladys]

Thank you so much for posting this, i had absolutely no idea what the siren was about.


so.... if it's going to go off for only 3 minutes warn us, how do we know it's not a test? i've heard it at varying times over the past several months. including at night.

"In"the unlikely event of a catastrophic release of extremely hazardous material from the refinery," Sunoco will order the devices to be activated, Sunoco Manager of Public Affairs John McCann said. The Philadelphia Fire Department also will order the sirens, each topping metal poles about 20 feet high, to sound if a truck or railroad accident releases harmful materials into the community. In both cases, the alert would last three minutes."

"According to Rossi, she has encountered no opposition thus far. As for the signals becoming a nuisance, Rossi said,"There's lots of protocols that go along with this. It's not going to go off for every little thing."

[mixiboi]

Rule of thumb, it goes on for more then 3 mins, I would start to prepare(By that time all the local news would break in if it was serious).

[Gladys]

Rule of thumb, it goes on for more then 3 mins, I would start to prepare(By that time all the local news would break in if it was serious).

i don't have a tv anymore so i guess i could just check online, if it's still working. thanks.

[mixiboi]

It should be, the event that could happen isn't one that would interfere with communication(outside of cell phones because people are idiots)

[seand]

It would make so much sense to have a website that reported the non-emergncy soundings. Like as simple as a list of times and comments like "non-emergency odor".

[Eastcoast]

So I'm waaaay to lazy to try to find this info.

What's the worst case scenario with the refinery gett'n all blowed up real good?

Is there a projected blast zone?

[mixiboi]

Blowing up? No, that is not even the worst case scenario. Its more about the cloud then an explosion:

[Gladys]

Looks like a bad made for tv disaster movie.

[mixiboi]

It Is!

[westisthebest]

it went off again tonight. I actually called sunoco and got REAL PEOPLE on the first dial.. They said the person who could answer my question ..."why were alarms going off" was in a meeting and would call me back. No call back.

[Dayman]

Sunoco has really stopped caring since the refinery was on the chopping block. They were going to have us train their boat operators, but since it's closing, they decided that it wasn't worth it to spend $50 on each of their boat operators to ensure they know what things like buoys mean.

[Eastcoast]

Blowing up? No, that is not even the worst case scenario. Its more about the cloud then an explosion:

Bummer, looks like I'll be walking across the Ben Franklin...of course then I'll just be in Camden!

[Gladys]

It Is!

LOL!!! DARN!!!! They beat me to it!

[Gladys]

Bummer, looks like I'll be walking across the Ben Franklin...of course then I'll just be in Camden!

i'd walk north and towards Quakertown, which means i'd be in north philly....