Troisdorf alarm Unknown persons manipulate civil defense siren
Troisdorf · Some residents in Troisdorf and other towns may have been unnecessarily alarmed by civil defense sirens. Officials say the sirens had been tampered with and charges have been filed.
On the weekend in Troisdorf, another analog public warning siren was manipulated. The city reacted on Tuesday by replacing the last six analog sirens with digital ones. At the same time, charges against unknown persons have been filed.
City spokesperson Bettina Plugge said, “We had actually planned the conversion (to digital) first in the coming year.” But a series of events in which analog sirens were manipulated caused them to act quickly. At the end of August, sirens were screaming in Sieglar and Spich - but not because fire department or other officials had activated them. In the previous weekend, it was the same scenario in Oberlar and Mitte. Investigations found that the alarms had been deliberately tampered with. The city of Troisdorf informed police and charges were filed even though the culprits have not yet been found.
The cost of each new digital siren is 1,000 euros. In the entire Rhine-Sieg County, there are still around 50 analog sirens which are to be replaced gradually. Unlike the analog sirens, the digital ones can’t be tampered with from the outside. Altogether, there are more than 300 sirens installed. (Orig. text: Dominik Pieper)
