The siren was intended for flood use. However, it might be used for other emergencies such as a
wild land fire. Also, the sirens are tested on the first Friday of every month at 11:45 AM. Between February 1st and July 31st only the Corp Yard siren is tested. The Fairfax Grade siren is not tested during the months that Spotted Owls are nesting in the area. During a test, the siren sounds for 60 seconds. During a real emergency, the siren will sound continuously until it is determined there has been adequate notification. If the siren is used for anything else, it would be coordinated along with other notification methods such as Nixle, Alert Marin or reverse 911 methods.