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City to get new outdoor warning sirens

by | Jul 17, 2025 | Latest, News

Princeton residents will soon hear louder warning sirens just about everywhere in the city.

Fire Chief Shannon Stephens said only three of the city’s existing eight outdoor warning sirens were “reliably operational,” would cost $200,000 to repair, and even then would not have adequate coverage. 

The chief recommended the city install a totally new warning system costing $579,750 financed over five years, with the first payment of $115,950 beginning next fiscal year. 

“Where you really start making up the cost would be the lack of maintenance, the difference of that roughly the $1,000 a year you need for each siren site that start to eat up the cost between the two different options.”

Stephens said the 10 Federal Signal outdoor warning sirens would each deliver 128 dB(c) of output and project sound over a 2,280-foot radius.

The “(c)” in 128 dB(c) refers to the C-weighting filter, which measures decibel sound levels across a broad frequency range and is more sensitive to low-frequency sounds than the commonly used A-weighting. C-weighting is often used for evaluating peak sound pressure levels in environments like sirens, explosions or industrial noise, where bass frequencies are significant.

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By Bob Wieland | [email protected]

Collin College Summer/Fall 2026 Registration 2

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