In a statement released this morning Gibson County Sheriff Bruce Vanoven addressed the community about a false storm siren alert.
In the letter, it was explained that at approximately 4:55 AM this morning, Sunday, July 6th, 2025, Gibson County Central Dispatch received a call for service requiring a medic unit.
During this incident, a dispatcher attempted to page the appropriate medic unit and fire department, but accidentally used their “all call” feature, triggering the countywide storm sirens.
Upon realizing the error, the dispatcher attempted to cancel the tone but was unsuccessful.
A dispatch supervisor was immediately notified of the issue and began an internal investigation, as well as a follow-up page was sent to all fire departments clarifying that there was no severe weather threat.
Following the incident, Sheriff Vanoven addressed a few key points:
- Severe Weather Protocols:
Earlier this year, it was determined that during any significant severe weather threat, all fire departments would be paged. However, this process consumed a considerable amount of radio airtime. In June, Sheriff Vanoven and Chief Deputy George Ballard met with the company that installed their new dispatch system. They are now working on implementing a single tone that can alert all fire departments and medic units simultaneously during such events. - Equipment Issues:
At this time they are also addressing technical issues that arose during their recent system transition and have made it clear to the contractor that these problems must be resolved. - Siren System Upgrades:
The Emergency Management Director, County Commissioners, and County Council are actively working together to upgrade and replace the current system. Sheriff Vanoven stated that based on discussions with the EMA Director, he believes that in the future the decision to activate sirens will no longer rest solely with Central Dispatch. Some have asked why all sirens are activated even when only part of the county is affected, and it was said this is done out of an abundance of caution to ensure public safety.
Sheriff Vanoven lastly noted he takes incidents like this morning’s very seriously, and in cases like this one, where equipment or programming fails citizens, he will continue to hold their contractors accountable and have frank conversations about expectations.
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