In a recent development following the disaster in St. Louis, Mayor Cara Spencer acknowledged a grave error that potentially cost lives during last week's catastrophic tornado. Spencer said that "a button wasn't pushed" which resulted in the failure of the tornado sirens to warn the city’s residents of the impending danger. The acknowledgment came amid public outcry over the absence of a lifesaving alert system that many did not hear as the EF3 tornado tore through their neighborhoods.
According to FOX2Now, the mayor addressed the incident on Monday, revealing that there was a lapse in the protocol that was supposed to be initiated when the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning around 2:30 p.m. last Friday. Spencer described the situation as "a failure," pointing out that the guidelines established in 2021 were "not exceptionally clear about whose roles or responsibilities were to do what." She vowed to unequivocally ensure the fire department understands and executes the revised protocol going forward.
Residents of North St. Louis shared their harrowing experiences with KSDK. Lawrence Poole recalled, "I did not hear a siren. We just saw everything start tearing up. Tearing up. Big gusts of wind, trees start to lay down to the ground, big trees. This is hell." His testament reflects the chaos and danger that ensued, absent of the warning sirens. Another resident, Tony Davis, expressed that he might have sought shelter had he heard the sirens but instead found himself trapped when trying to escape his home.
Mayor Spencer also commented on the city’s emergency response protocol, stating, "This protocol is calling for our fire department — who is staffed 24 hours a day — to issue those warnings." This change is reported by St. Louis Public Radio. Spencer expressed confidence in the fire department's capability to carry out this critical function in the alarm system in the future. The revised protocol is a direct response to the failure which occurred despite a successful siren system test a day before the actual emergency.
The tornado's impact, with winds reaching up to 152 mph, was devastating, causing injuries, widespread destruction, and a death toll of five. Mayor Spencer did not clarify if all or only some of the sirens failed to go off. However, she reiterated that the emergency management system did send out 317 direct messages as part of the warning efforts. Still, the lack of a siren has left many residents like Poole feeling angry and confused over the absence of what could have been a critical alert, "It just doesn't make sense," Poole told Barczewski, as reported by KSDK.
