A portable outdoor siren arrived in St. Joseph Friday morning for use in the Region H area.

Buchanan County Emergency Management Director, Bill Brinton said the Area H Regional Homeland Security Oversight Committee (RHSOC) approved the purchase of the portable outdoor siren system after an annual needs review.

“It’s a trailer that has a tornado siren on it and PA System,” Brinton said. “You can have it either as a storm siren or if you have a lost child you can use its PA System.  It’s a quick way where you can warn someone if there’s an emergency.”

Brinton said it will be used for large outdoor events like county fairs, or Trails West.

“A lot of our rural counties like in Worth County or Gentry County or different places they don’t have a lot of storm sirens,” Brinton said. “This gives us the ability that when we have a large group of people like Missouri Days in Trenton they will have 15,000 people there in a town of 5,000. So this gives us the ability where we can set this up and we can warn people in the event of a weather incident.”

The siren cost around $25,000 and was provided through government funding.

“RHSOC oversight committee meets and we try to buy things that will enhance and make our region better,” Brinton said. “We spend approximately $250,000 a year.”

The trailer arrived at the Hazmat Building at 4950 Frederick Ave. Friday morning. Crews are now training on how to use the siren.

“There will be a process for requesting it and me or some of my people will take it out somewhere and we will set it up,” Brinton said.