The Town of Tryon will be testing its emergency siren tomorrow for the first time in decades.

The town will test the siren this Saturday at noon. The siren should go off for a four minute cycle and should be heard all over Tryon and parts of its township.

Tryon decided recently to reinstate its signal for emergency situations. The siren is located at the top of Tryon Town Hall and hasnt been used in many years. Current town officials are not certain when the town last used the siren or when the siren was first used, but one resident during a recent meeting said she remembered it going off in the 1940s. Others said they remembered hearing the siren last in the 1970s or early 1980s.

The idea of reinstating the towns siren was brought up by Tryon Councilman Austin Chapman, who said the town should have some sort of warning system for residents during certain situations. Tryon Fire Chief Joey Davis applied for grants to buy a new system for approximately $10,000, but was not awarded any grant funds.

The town approved using the siren along with a policy for its use in April. The policy says the siren should only be activated in situations where a tornado has been visually confirmed and/or a tornado warning has been issued as well as other situations such as threats to national security. The towns siren can be activated by the towns emergency director, town manager, fire and police chief, the shift supervisor in charge of the police department and the assistant fire chief.

Saturdays siren will be one of four annual tests. The town has agreed to do tests on the siren the first Saturday of every January, April, July and October.

When the towns siren is activated in the case of an actual emergency, residents should tune into television or radio for information and take immediate shelter from the perceived danger, according to the towns policy.