After not-so-silent siren test, St. Paul says sorry, won't happen again

Residents in parts of St. Paul heard emergency sirens sounding briefly before 7 a.m. Monday.

The city's emergency management division said routine monthly tests had noted some minor electrical issues among the city's 36 sirens. Staff conducted what they thought would be a silent test of the system this morning, but several of the sirens were audible as they shut down at the end of the test, making a low, growling noise.

Sirens could be heard in the Cathedral Hill and Macalester-Groveland neighborhoods.

"It's supposed to be a silent test, just to spin the sirens and check the electrical current," said Rick Larkin, the city's director of emergency management. "Our system has two-way communication and it will notify us if there are any mechanical or electrical issues."

He said the system was one of the largest and most advanced in the state.

Larkin said he wasn't sure why the silent test wasn't just that. But he also apologized for the commotion, and said the city will institute a policy that will prohibit testing, including silent tests, before 9 a.m.