VALLEY VIEW, Texas — The Valley View Volunteer Fire Department confirmed in a Facebook post on Wednesday evening that the town's warning sirens malfunctioned during the tornado that killed seven people and injured hundreds of others on Saturday.
At about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, the department said, its crews were notified of severe storms headed for the area. At 10 p.m., parts of Cooke County were placed under a tornado warning. Crews were also warned about a possible tornado near Forestburg, and later in an area southwest of Valley View, the post reads.
"At this time, VVFD members readied the outdoor warning siren for the City of Valley View." the post states. "Upon activation of the siren, it malfunctioned, and did not set off an audible alert."
Since crews couldn't immediately fix the issue, the post said they abandoned the siren and made a social media post advising the public to take immediate shelter in the area. Warning and alerts had also been sent by the National Weather Service.
The warning siren is tested on the first Thursday of the month, the Facebook post said, but had not been tested the prior two months due to weather conditions at the time of the tests.
The post said the warning system is a Thunderbolt Air warning system that has to be set off manually on location, and is mounted on a 25-foot pole on the southeast side of the town's square.
"The system is an outdoor warning system, meaning that it is meant to warn people that are outside to seek shelter," the post said. "It is very loud, however it is not meant to be heard indoors. It also is not designed to reach outside of the city limits."
On a clear day, the post said, the siren can be heard half a mile away, and that distance becomes shorter when trying to reach people indoors.
"The City of Valley View recently renovated the building that power is drawn from for the siren system," the post said. "It was found yesterday that there was a wiring issue where the power is drawn from the building. This has since been fixed and the siren is in service at this time."
Four tornadoes have been confirmed behind the widespread damage across North Texas on Saturday night.