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Vol. 18, No. 15
December 29, 2021
Ronan council approves continued siren use, marijuana ordinance By Taylor Davison / Valley Journal
Snowpack pg. 6
Local Author pg. 12
Basketball pg. 14
RONAN — The Ronan city council meeting on Dec. 20 began with discussion of the continued use of the local fire siren. Thirty-four community members attended the meeting. All voted in favor of the siren’s continued use. When the council asked for public opinion on use of the siren, several attending residents spoke up to give their perspectives on its usefulness. One woman stated she lives right by the siren, and it lets her kids know to get out of the road immediately in case a response vehicle was to come by at a high speed. Another mentioned it lets the community know when someone is in trouble, so they can go to the aid of a fellow resident as quickly as possible. A volunteer firefighter commented that his pager had been on the charger when a call went out, and had he not heard the siren, he would not have known to respond. Concerns brought by members of the public were discussed as well. One attendee asked for clarification on claims that a large percentage of calls announced by the siren went unanswered. Mark Clary, Emergency Management Coordinator for Lake County, explained that
Ronan community members share their perspectives on the fire siren.
when the siren goes off, a volunteer immediately responds. A call may be cancelled after the fact if it turns out to be a false alarm, but someone will already be on their way. Statistics on calls and fire reports are available by request from the Ronan fire chief. When asked why the siren w w w.va l le yj our na l.net
is still in use when there is also newer technology in use, emergency responders in attendance explained that in many parts of rural Montana, within certain buildings, and in times of severe weather, reception for all types of communication technology can be inconsistent. Additionally, Clary explained that the
TAYLOR DAVISON / VALLEY JOURNAL
company that manages the 911 software pushes through updates without informing dispatch centers, leaving dispatch’s pages shown as sent on their end, but undelivered to firefighters. “The technology, yes it’s there. Is it always reliable? No, it’s not,” Clary stated.
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