Folks in Rogers got an early morning wake up call when a technical problem caused a tornado siren to go off around 4:20am on Wednesday.
A tornado siren is not something many expect to wake up to the day after Christmas, especially with no real tornado threat looming.
"I heard it go off, of course the dog got upset... I just started falling asleep, about 4:35 it went off again. Just got back to sleep, about 4:45 it went off again," said Melva Nicodemus. The siren sits in the backyard of her house.
"One siren located at S. 23rd and W. Pine Street near Westside Elementary School had a malfunction," said Lt. Mike Johnson with the Rogers Police Department.
According to Lt. Johnson, the Rogers Central Dispatch did not set it off and there was no indication it had been activated. Johnson believes a power surge or radio transmissions might have triggered the alarm.
"In 20 years, I've never heard of the sirens going off on their own."
With recent weather threats and violent crimes making headlines across the country, the sound startled Melva.
"When you check all the weather channels and news and stuff and there's nothing and I knew all the snow was down that way... You're thinking, okay what's going on, is there something going on around here? So, that kind of worried me a little bit."
Another cause for concern, was that there was no warning back in October when a tornado touched down in Rogers.
"The tornado that happened suddenly, there was no time to set off the alarms."
But, Lt. Johnson does not want folks to lose faith in the siren system.
"One thing that the City of Rogers does take pride in is the fact that we try to give the best service we can to the citizens."
And Melva, will still take the sound seriously.
"I won't think it's a malfunction, because you don't think they malfunction."
The Rogers Police Department said they have several different sirens for different emergencies, and each one has a unique tone. Officials believe the one that sounded Wednesday morning was the warning for a tornado.
Lt. Johnson also said the last time they checked the sirens, all were functioning properly. The Rogers Street Department has deactivated the problem siren and is trying to get the situation fixed.
Dispatch reported taking many 911 calls reporting the siren, which went off at least five times before being deactivated.
