Orting News Answer Poll

Comment #51: I work at the school and we are unable to hear it inside the building, nor can we hear it inside our house. How safe should we feel?

Comment #50: We forunately live on top of the hill towards Graham. The very first test( years ago) we were able to hear it but nothing since then. This is a test of an actual emergency, Make it sound like it at whatever time of day. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when!!!!

Comment #49: We can't hear it in Village Green. We can barely hear it when we are outside and not at all when we are inside.

Comment #48: I live in Rivers Edge and I could barely hear the sirens. If they are not meant to be loud enough to alert people than what is the point of having them? It would be a good idea to do some testing on the weekends as well so a majority of Orting residents (including those working M-F) have an opportunity to hear them.

Comment #47: I live in Rivers Edge and I could barely hear the sirens. If they are not meant to be loud enough to alert people than what is the point of having them? It would be a good idea to do some testing on the weekends as well so a majority of Orting residents (including those working M-F) have an opportunity to hear them.

Comment #46: With only 20 min to 30 min to get out .There is no way to get everybody out in time . With the road system around here it is a disgrace. The only way to get out is by running or riding your bike. They need to do something soon or when the time comes to get out it will be a big mess.

Comment #45: With ONLY 20-30 min before the mud slide hits us.... there is no way everyone is going to make it. They need to do expand our EVACUATION ROUTE(s) to make sure we have a fighting chance.

Comment #44: hearing a drill doesn't reflect the actual chaos that will ensue during an actual alarm. i do not believe that the residents in the valley will proceed in a calm and orderly manner, nor do i think the municipalities can predict the outcome of such an actual.

Comment #43: Can't hear it on Kansas and even if we could getting out of town would be a mess. People driving crazy and in a panic causing accidents and blocking the roads! We need more lanes for traffic. The old fire siren was louder than these high priced new ones!! Its a waste of money so far!! If everyone has to buy a NOAA weather radio why waste money on the sirens?

Comment #42: The first Lahar siron I heard in 2006 sounded like an ice cream truck. The one I heard in 2007 sounded like an ambulance truck. I missed this one this year. But the previous two I could not even hear in my house when the windows were closed and the siren pole is half way between my house and the high school.

Comment #41: Theres not enought room for everyone to get out of town. We need wide roads and better side walks for all of the children .

Comment #40: No, because there is no bridge to evacuate quickly.

Comment #39: The siren system was not intended to wake people up or to be heard over applicances etc. The Emergency Managment Dept. recommends that all households have a NOAA weather radio. These radios alert you with a loud alarm to all types of situations - major windstorms, snow, etc. as well as a lahar. There are weekly tests of the system so you can hear how it sounds. I have slept better since we got ours a few years ago. The cost is about $80.00 and worth every penny for the peace of mind. I love living in Orting and am willing to live with the lahar hazard, but am certainly going to want warning.

Comment #38: I dont know. I've never heard it because I'm always at work during testing.

Comment #37: Most of the time we don't hear the siren. It has to be very quiet in the house - no water running, dishwasher, washer or dryer, tv or radio on. And we are close to a siren.

Comment #36: We cant hear the Lahar warning system in Villiage Green

Comment #35: We can not hear the warning at all, unless we are out side, and in our long winter month's, and constant rain needless to say we are not out side most of the time. And being retired we are home nost all the time.We live in Vally Place,just across from the golf corse. So I guess what i am saying is (TURN UP THE VOLUME) if you do not then the only people that benefit from it live in town!

Comment #34: There need to be more warning sirens around. I can't hear them indoors (and barely out), and I live a couple of hundred yards from the one in Village Green.

Comment #33: We moved to the Whitehawk neighborhood about 5 months ago so this was our first Lahar drill. I was interested to hear this state of the art warning system. Unfortunately I couldn't hear the sirens at all until I opened up a window and even then it was fainter than a passing firetruck. If my family was sleeping or if we had all of the windows closed, we would never know. That is terrifying!

Comment #32: We moved to the Whitehawk neighborhood about 5 months ago so this was our first Lahar drill. I was interested to hear this state of the art warning system. Unfortunately I couldn't hear the sirens at all until I opened up a window and even then it was fainter than a passing firetruck. If my family was sleeping or if we had all of the windows closed, we would never know. That is terrifying!

Comment #31: I feel safER with it in place, but how could you ever feel completely safe living in the valley below a volcano? I would be curious to know where that Utube video was filmed from tho.

Comment #30: You cannot hear it from inside the house when you are home anyhow. (Village Green) It is great the kids get the opportunity to do a test run, but what about those of us that work M-F? Why not test it during the weekend? We have to much traffic to get in and out of town now if the mountain goes there is no way we are making it out safe. The sirens are a nice thought...but it is just a warning that we are all going to die.

Comment #29: I heard it go off for at least 10 minutes. If you cant hear that, maybe you need to install some personal warning device in your home or get to know some neighbors who would come and check on you.

Comment #28: It is not loud enough and to be honest I am at work when you do the tests, maybe you should consider doing a test on a weekend and ask that people respond as if it were real heading out of town to the evac sites. then everyone would get an idea of what it would really be like...

Comment #27: Wow, I am amazed at some of the comments I read. I heard the siren and the thing that sounds like a telephone. I don't know where people were that they couldn't hear the alarm, but I sure did. And the other people I was with heard it too. I do agree with the comment about doing the test on a weekend. And I think that we should practice evacuating so that we know for sure that we would be able to get out of town. I don't know if that would really be able to happen, but it might be worth a try. Keep up the good work!

Comment #26: a few bridges over the river would make me feel safe

Comment #25: How come they only have the drills during the week when most people are at work...I have never heard our siren go off. I understand the inportance of having it during a week day, it helps the schools and business prepare for evacuation. But what about the other part of the community that is only home in the evening and weekends?

Comment #24: How come they only have the drills during the week when most people are at work...I have never heard our siren go off. I understand the inportance of having it during a week day, it helps the schools and business prepare for evacuation. But what about the other part of the community that is only home in the evening and weekends?

Comment #23: of course it makes me feel safe! If I could hear it!

Comment #22: If there is a minor accident leaving town you are trapped in town. The siren is only going to warn you of impeding doom since the 10000 in this valley will never be evacuated in time for the mud wave.

Comment #21: If I didn't have my NOAA Radio.. I would never of heard them inside. When I stepped outside, they were very faint. I thought I would be able to hear the one in McMillan, but I was wrong.

Comment #20: I wish they were a little more distinctive. They sounded a lot like fire/aid sirens.

Comment #19: I have lived in the Orting area now for 3 years and have only heard the sirens (if you call them that) one time when I happened to be driving past them. The tones that are made from them are to quiet and should be alarming instead of calming.

Comment #18: Good question but what gets done with the answer? We have an evacuation route on our road that dead ends at a logging road...hmmm

Comment #17: I definitely feel safer knowing we would get warning of a lahar. Now we just need to get a better evacuation route for the community. Bridge for Kids is a non-profit group of parents, teachers, and community members working with the city to provide a pedestrian bridge across the Carbon River and up the hill to safety well within the estimated time. Please support this effort as the logical next step to the sirens. Marianne Smith Teacher OPS Secretary B4K

Comment #16: I cannot hear it in my home......so if i were sleeping .....i really wouldn't hear and I would die!

Comment #15: can't hear it when the doors are closed. need one closer to north end houses

Comment #14: The Lahar Warning System was scheduled to go off this morning and from my house, which is in town, I couldn't even tell you for sure if it really happened. I had gotten up early this morning and decided to go back to bed for a bit, wait for the sirens to wake me up again. Even half asleep (and I'm a very light sleeper to begin with) I couldn't hear anything. I thought for a second that maybe I was hearing something very faint but I can't be certain. This is very disturbing because had I been totally asleep and had a real emergency happened with the sirens going off... I don't think anyone in my house would have heard it. Isn't the point of this system to make sure that people in town and in the surrounding areas know that danger is coming and give them at least a slight head start to safety? I am shocked that the city still isn't taking this system as seriously as they've led us to believe. It is obvious that the current system just isn't cutting it and that changes need to be made. I hope that things will be dealt with soon and that perhaps more sirens will be placed throughout the town itself to ensure people's safety.

Comment #13: The Lahar Warning System was scheduled to go off this morning and from my house, which is in town, I couldn't even tell you for sure if it really happened. I had gotten up early this morning and decided to go back to bed for a bit, wait for the sirens to wake me up again. Even half asleep (and I'm a very light sleeper to begin with) I couldn't hear anything. I thought for a second that maybe I was hearing something very faint but I can't be certain. This is very disturbing because had I been totally asleep and had a real emergency happened with the sirens going off... I don't think anyone in my house would have heard it. Isn't the point of this system to make sure that people in town and in the surrounding areas know that danger is coming and give them at least a slight head start to safety? I am shocked that the city still isn't taking this system as seriously as they've led us to believe. It is obvious that the current system just isn't cutting it and that changes need to be made. I hope that things will be dealt with soon and that perhaps more sirens will be placed throughout the town itself to ensure people's safety.

Comment #12: I looked forward to the warning system going off this morning - just makes me feel safer

Comment #11: asdfsd

Comment #10: The lahar siren is going off right now. I don't know if it's a test or false alarm but I hope it's not the real thing because I'm not concerned. There have been so many tests and problems I just don't believe it anymore. Since the local radio stations aren't commenting on it I guess we're safe (for now). If it's the real thing at least I've enjoyed living here and it was worth the risk! - VF

Comment #9: Depending on what part of the house I am in, changes how loud the siren is. If I am running the washer and dreyer, and watching tv, or giving one of the kids a bath, I am sure I would not hear it! That is a little scary.

Comment #8: It went on way to long for a test. How would we know if it were the real thing compared to this

Comment #7: I don't know where the closest siren is to my house. I wouldn't know if I can hear it. That and sometimes there are so many sirens going for fire and police, I wonder if is the larhar sirens or them.

Comment #6: Lahar...that's like calling squid Calamari. Why don't these officials call a spade a spade and say they're really doing this to substantiate their jobs and prove that even with all of today's technology they can't really put together a cohesive warning system or emergency plan that is at all realistic and functional.

Comment #5: Last time I was in my house and it sounded like a cat & dog fight horribly muffled... There is one in my neighborhood less than 2 blocks away...

Comment #4: Last time I was in my house and it sounded like a cat & dog fight horribly muffled... There is one in my neighborhood less than 2 blocks away...

Comment #3: yes the lahar warning makes me feel safe because it will make all the kids and so adults prepeard if anything happens. :-)

Comment #2: A joke. Millions spent and it either doesn't work, or they need new this or that, or they blame somebody. A joke.

Comment #1: A joke. Millions spent and it either doesn't work, or they need new this or that, or they blame somebody. A joke.