Most Kimberley residents heard the emergency horn being tested in March. At that time, the Kimberley Fire Department was updating the city’s emergency evacuation plan, which describes the process involved should it become necessary to evacuate citizens. Given the last few fire seasons, the possibility of evacuation is definitely real.
The fire department has now decided to test the horn on the first Tuesday of every month, beginning on May 1, 2018. The siren will sound at 10 a.m. on each test day.
Monthly testing is required to ensure that the horn is functioning.
At one time Kimberley had three notification systems that were used for various reasons. The reported histories around the various horns and sirens vary, but retired Fire Chief Bruce King and Assistant Fire Chief Jack Paterson have shed some light on the origins of the various signals.
The curfew siren was activated at 9:15 nightly, to notify young people that is was time to head home. There were also the air raid sirens that would be activated by national defense as Kimberley was suspected to be a target during the cold war. These sirens were located in various areas around the city and were tested annually under the direction of the Federal Government.
Lastly, the air horn that is still on the top of City Hall was used to notify the City’s firefighters that they were needed for an emergency. The number of blasts from the horn would identify the location in town that the firefighters were needed. Technology eventually replaced the old horn, and the fire department now uses pagers and radios to notify its personnel. Today this horn is used to signal that an emergency alert is occurring.
The Kimberley Fire Department asks members of the community to please share the news that they will be testing the emergency horn every first Tuesday of the month. Please feel free to contact the fire department at (250)-427-4114 or at Fire@Kimberley.ca.