T-L Photos/ROBERT A. DEFRANK Former St. Clairsville volunteer firefighter Tom Donathan, from left, Mayor Terry Pugh and Belmont County Emergency Management Director David Ivan await news of the status of the city’s emergency siren control system Wednesday. The alarm system was tested for Severe Weather Awareness Week, but the siren on top of the courthouse cut out early.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The city’s tornado siren alert system had its first test of the season at 9:50 a.m. Wednesday, the first day of spring.

The test was to have been three minutes long, but it ran into a hitch when the siren on top of the Belmont County Courthouse cut out. The other two sirens in the system performed as anticipated, and all the equipment is expected to be in working order in the coming months.

Officials tested the sirens in conjunction with the Ohio Committee for Severe Weather Awareness Week, March 17 through March 23. Severe weather does occur in and around St. Clairsville on an annual basis. In fact, an 1887 tornado destroyed much of the community’s downtown area.

The city now has three outdoor sirens to alert residents in the event of a tornado or other natural disaster. The main siren is on the courthouse roof and the other two are located at Spring Park and at the intersection of Johnet and Harbel drives.

The courthouse siren is the oldest of the three and had been inactive until it was taken down, renovated and returned to its place in 2015.

“There was a lot of people involved when it was initially put up,” Mayor Terry Pugh said.

Guests participating in the test included Tom Donathan, a retired Wheeling firefighter and a one-time member of the former St. Clairsville volunteer fire department, which existed prior to the Cumberland Trail Fire District’s formation in 1989. The fire district absorbed the volunteer fire department in 1990.

Now a Wheeling resident, Donathan was born and raised in St. Clairsville and served in the volunteer fire department from 1977 to 1987; he then became a career firefighter in Wheeling. He had the honor Wednesday of activating the sirens for the first test.

“I’d really like to dedicate the siren restoration and repurposing to all those who served the St. Clairsville Volunteer Fire Department over the years. That siren called us to duty for over 40 years, and it’s great to hear it again,” he said. “Even though it didn’t blow the full cycle, it gave me goosebumps.”

He said judging from its brief period of activity Wednesday, the siren is in fine shape.

“It still sounds good. It brings back a lot of memories and a lot of emotions,” he said.

Donathan rebuilt the siren before it was re-placed on the roof in 2015.

“We used Martins Ferry’s ladder truck to get it down,” Donathan said. “I took it all apart, totally cleaned it, new bearings, put it all back together, had it test-rung. … We got it back up on the courthouse roof, and once that was done, the city took over as far as getting the rest of the system finished.”

He said the siren stood idle until the city could install the radio control system, but a county restoration project of the courthouse delayed the process.

“We had to go through some red tape to get the siren off the courthouse,” he said. “It took a couple of years to get it rebuilt and everything. Then the courthouse renovation stalled us for several years on the exterior. Now, it’s all completed and it’ll serve the citizens of St. Clairsville in warning them of severe weather.”

He said the city provided the other two sirens and the control devices and radio system.

Belmont County Emergency Management Director David Ivan was also present to observe.

“This is why you test, to make sure things do work,” Ivan said regarding the brief sounding of the main siren. “Chances are it’s a problem with the controller. … It did fire up, but then it cut right out and it tried to do it again. So it sounds like a controller problem.”

Pugh said the issue seems to be an electrical problem and would fall under the authority of the city electric department.

“That’s why we have practices, I guess,” Pugh said. “The two new ones that were installed, they were fine.”

Pugh said the Spring Park siren was recently purchased, but the city already had the other siren as a backup. He said the installation and annunciator system cost about $14,000.

He added that the siren could have been utilized last May, when a tornado was sighted north of St. Clairsville. St. Clairsville Police Chief Jeff Henry said the alert could be used during any natural disaster.

The city will test the siren system again at noon April 1, and at noon on the first Monday of every month afterward.

In a separate matter, Henry also advises all residents to contact the Belmont County 911 department and sign up for the CodeRED alert system. The system allows communities and the county to send out notifications during emergency situations, but people must sign up to receive services. Notifications can be received by phone call, cellphone, text message, email or by the free mobile app. For more information, call 740-699-0425.