An upgraded and expanded emergency warning system should make life safer and easier for Hermitage residents.

Warning sirens will be sounded during severe thunderstorm warnings, severe damaging wind warnings, tornado warnings and other public safety dangers, such as terrorist threats and hazardous waste spills. According to Hermitage Fire Marshal Robert Goeltz, they had a warning system in place ever since the tornadoes of 1985, but it was due for an upgrade.

"The system was over 20-years old," said Goeltz. "We were also using a low band frequency range, which is an obsolete range. We updated the frequency range to a VHF frequency."

The new warning system can be activated not only from Hermitage fire stations and Mercer County 911 Center, but from fire official's vehicles, and by duty officers and the district chief from the fire department in Patagonia.

When activated, the sirens will automatically go off three times during a nine minute time period and will be reactivated as needed.

Goeltz said that residents should turn on their radios or televisions to find out what the emergency is instead of calling the fire departments or 911 center.

"We're just too busy at that time," he said.

Four sirens were installed at Hermitage fire station 2 at Superior Street in Patagonia, fire station 3 at Mercer Avenue and Maple Drive, and two pump stations at Highland Road and Dutch Lane, and S. Keel Ridge and Virginia Roads.

Goeltz made it clear that the alert would only be activated when there was a weather warning, a hazardous spill or a terrorist threat.

The alert would not be activated for a weather watch -- which means the conditions exist for a weather emergency but no weather emergency has been reported. The new system cost about $2,000.

The fire department will test the system at 10 a.m. on the first Thursday of every month, and also at 9 a.m. on the first Monday of December, March, June, and September, by the 911 Center.

Goeltz said he hopes to eventually see a uniform, coordinated warning system throughout the county.

"Right now, there is no standard policy," Goeltz said.

"We're living in a different world than we lived in years ago," said Goeltz.