Students who want to remain safe should listen to the voices in the sky.

The Department of Public Safety, the Physical Plant and Federal Signal, a security company focused on communities and workplaces, installed a new outdoor emergency notification system for SIU students. The system is placed in eight locations and has the ability to store 13 prerecorded messages. The system is replacing the five sirens the university used previously.

Associate Director of Facilities Brad Dillard said this system is more efficient.

“This system is replacing the five siren system which dated back to the ‘50s,” he said. “That system only used sirens and was difficult to test, and did not always function properly.”

Dillard said the sirens will stay, but new messages will be added with more specific needs.

“This system will still have the national severe weather siren as well as the national civil defense siren. But it will also have 13 prerecorded messages,” he said. “The messages were chosen by the Department of Public Safety and the Physical Plant Service and will address situations such as a gunman, a hazardous chemical spill or weather that does not meet the severe weather criteria.”

Dillard said the messages can be heard at varying distances based on location.

“Federal Signal has used sophisticated acoustic technology to decide where the alarms should be and how far they will be heard,” he said. “They are based on the terrain of the campus, surrounding buildings and how close other alarms are so that no message will sound unclear.”

Dillard said students who are in the intramural sport fields will have weather warnings as well.

“Students playing in the intramural fields will have warnings about lightning when severe weather warnings are not needed,” he said. “This will give students a chance to stay safe sooner and will help prevent any accidents.”

The university now has control over the system and which part of campus it alerts. Dillard said all of these locations are controlled by the click of a mouse.

“The alarms are controlled from a computer screen which will show the locations of the alarms and whichever needs to be set off can by clicking on that specific alarm,” he said. “The Department of Public Safety and the Physical Plant will both have access but the city of Carbondale will still be in charge of the severe weather alarms.”

Dillard said the city previously had control over the alarm system.

Testing times are still on the first Tuesday of every month. Students who are indoors will still be alerted by radio, emailing and text notifications.

Adie Applegate can be reached at aapplegate@dailyegyptian, on Twitter @adisonaple or 536-3311 ext. 268.