(SPANISH FORT, Ala.) - The city of Spanish Fort will soon be home to Baldwin County's only storm siren, emergency management officials said.
Baldwin County EMA Director Mitchell Sims said he learned just a couple of weeks ago that Spanish Fort was able to secure grant money to help pay for the siren.
Sims calls it an effective tool for alerting residents about severe weather.
"Obviously, we're pleased with any of our municipalities that help us help take care of their people," Sims said. "Spanish Fort felt this was something that they can step up and do, and I'm glad to see that we're going to be supporting them."
When asked why Baldwin County doesn't have more storm sirens, Sims said they are unpractical for the county spanning 1,600 square miles.
"An effective range for a tornado siren is about one mile with optimum conditions," Sims said. Economically, there's just no way that we can afford putting in 1,600 sirens."
Sims said they rely on local weather reports, the National Weather Service, weather radios and smart phones to warn residents about severe weather.
