Archive · 23 May 2025
St. Louis Emergency Chief on Leave After Siren Failure During Tornado
Imagine a big storm came to town and the loud warning sirens that are supposed to tell everyone to be safe didn't go off.
That happened in St. Louis during a tornado.
The person in charge of emergencies, Sarah Russell, was away at a meeting.
Because of this, the sirens did not get activated, and it caused serious problems.
The Mayor is now looking into why the sirens didn't work.
It seems the person at the fire department was told to activate the sirens but it didn't happen, and the button at the fire station was broken.
Now, someone else is in charge temporarily, and people are working to fix the sirens.
The head of St. Louis's emergency management, Sarah Russell, was placed on leave.
Tornado sirens failed to activate during a tornado warning on May 16.
The mayor's office announced an external investigation into the incident.
The sirens can be activated from the CEMA office or the Fire Department.
The Fire Department button was broken and the CEMA button was operational.
- Who
- Sarah Russell, the commissioner of St. Louis CEMA, and Mayor Cara Spencer.
- What
- Emergency chief placed on leave after tornado sirens weren't activated during a tornado warning.
- When
- May 16, and the following days
- Where
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Why
- The emergency management chief was placed on leave due to the failure to activate tornado sirens.
- Event
- Tornado
- Location
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Date
- May 16
- Emergency Chief on Leave
- Sarah Russell
- Interim Commissioner
- John Walk
- Lives Lost
- At least five