Fargo, North Dakota, to Test Outdoor Warning System

Fargo, North Dakota – The infrastructure for public safety in The City of Fargo includes emergency sirens as a key element. Tone testing on specific sirens as part of the annual maintenance procedure may be audible during the daytime hours of Monday, May 15 through Friday, May 19, when crews work on the system in Fargo.

Every month at 1 p.m. on the first Wednesday, the City of Fargo conducts siren testing. Citizens need not take any action during a planned sirens test.

When sirens are heard without a test scheduled, please follow these guidelines in case of an emergency:

• Seek shelter indoors and turn on local media (local broadcast channels, radio); hearing a siren does not mean you should evacuate.
• Follow directions from local officials, including information provided by the National Weather Service.
• Do not assume there is no emergency because skies are clear; there may be a non-weather-related emergency.
• Only call 9-1-1 in case of an actual emergency. Please do not use 9-1-1 to ask questions about the siren system; all questions may be routed to the Office of Emergency Management at 701.476.4068.

Since the siren structure is an outside warning system, bad weather and strong winds could prevent you from hearing the sirens inside or during an actual occurrence. For reliable indoor warning information, Cass Fargo Emergency Management advises joining up for Cass Clay Alerts and owning a NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio with Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) technology.