MACON, Ga. — Macon's siren are only supposed to sound off if there's a tornado or flooding nearby, but many people heard the siren going off on Thursday morning.
Sanarda Banks heard the sirens.
"I kept looking at the door to try to see did I see a tornado," said Banks.
She lives off Shurling Drive. She says the siren blared for more than 20 minutes.
"I didn't know how to react to it. It was different and scary," said Banks.
Spencer Hawkins, Macon-Bibb's EMA director, says the sirens are over 30 years old.
"You don't want something that's going to warn you of an emergency that's that old," said Hawkins.
Hawkins says it could have been their age, water damage, or even ants that caused the sirens to misfire.
"Our biggest threat to the siren system is ants, because the control boxes are warm and dry so they like to crawl in there and make their colonies," said Hawkins.
Hawkins says the county has contacted their repair crews, who turned off the siren while they figure out what went wrong.
He says while they are repairing it, you should sign up for MBC Alert. You sign up online and it will call and text your cellphone or alert you on your home line.
"It's a way we can communicate directly with you about severe weather about safety procedures and if something does happen you can use it to communicate with us," said Hawkins.
Hawkins says the siren could be turned off for a day or even a week while they work to figure out what went wrong.
He hopes this made people think about their emergency plans and what they could do if it was a real warning.
Hawkins says if you do hear a siren, you shouldn't go to the door and look outside.
He says find a place in your house big enough for your whole family, but far away from any doors or windows.
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