Brockway, PA – Brockway Fire Chief Mike Hoskavich hopes that residents in the area take emergency sirens seriously.
Hoskavich said that it is normal to hear a siren, get to shelter, and when nothing bad happens, think that authorities overreacted. However, there is a lot of information that the average person does not have and decisions to sound weather sirens or give warnings are not taken lightly.
Hoskavich talked about the storm at the end of March, where the day started out sunny, but quickly changed into a severe storm. County Emergency Management activated all weather sirens in their jurisdiction because they saw three areas of concern on the radar. Rotation was seen heading toward Punxsutawney, Sigel, and Brockway. While those cells dissipated, there was no way for County Emergency Management to predict what would happen.
If residents hear weather sirens, the best thing for them to do is to get to shelter. Hoskavich warned them not to go outside and look up because tornadoes can drop very quickly. Using the advice of “Better safe than sorry,” the best thing to do is to get indoors to a safe place and wait until the weather passes.
Story, photo, and audio courtesy of reporter Andrew Bundy.
Listen to the audio interview with Chief Hoskavich.
