Emergency Management to review location of storm sirens

Linn County Emergency Management will be conducting a survey of storm sirens in the county over the next week or two. (File photo)

By Charlene Sims, info@linncountyjournal.com

MOUND CITY – The Linn County Commission received reports from the ambulance and fire department services on Monday, July 21. During the presentations, both Fire Chief Randy Hegwald and American Medical Response (AMR) Dawn Brooks discussed decreases in their 2026 budgets that were being proposed by the commissioners.

Hegwald, who is also director of Emergency Management, said that after last week’s budget discussion, he did reach out to a storm siren contractor and a representative was going to come down in the next two to three weeks and meet with him. 

Hegwald told the commissioners that they will be going through the county and looking at where storm sirens are needed and determine if the county needed to secure easements. Also, they will be looking at what will be needed for poles and that way a better estimate can be made on the costs. He said that way he could give a better projection of needs over the next five years.    

Commissioner Jason Hightower said he though that would be a good idea and the county could plan accordingly.              

Hegwald reported that there were six total fire calls for the past week, and that brings the yearly total up to 361 calls.

Hegwald reminded the commissioners that this coming Thursday, July 24, was the local emergency planning committee (LEPC) meeting in the courthouse annex at noon. He said there will be a meal service at the meeting.

He explained that the LEPC meetings used to be in the evenings. He said that in talking with other counties they had switched their meetings to daytime, and he could see why. 

“We’d been averaging six to 10 people at our LEPC meetings and we have almost 40 registered now for it,” said Hegwald. “So we’re getting a lot better attendance.” 

Hegwald told the commissioners that this week the fire department would be starting pump testing on the fire engines. He said that all the fire trucks in the county including the cities of Linn Valley, La Cygne and Pleasanton trucks would be tested.

Brooks told the commissioners that her team had workshopped some solutions for AMRs budget in Linn County and they had another meeting this coming Thursday. Hopefully they would have some solutions in the next week or so, she said.

Brooks gave the weekly report.

The report showed the month to date ambulance reports from July 1 through July 20. There have been a total of 97 calls resulting in 47 transports. The average response time is 15 minutes 43 seconds. The calls by city were:

•  Blue Mound, 12 calls, 4 transports

• Centerville, 2 calls, 1 transport

•  Fulton, 0 calls, 0 transports

• Greeley, 1 call, 1 transport

• La Cygne, 23 calls, 11 transports 

• Fontana, 0 calls, 0 transports

• Lane, 0 calls, 0 transports

• Linn Valley, 8 calls, 6 transports

• Mapleton, 1 call, 1 transport

• Rich Hill, 0 calls, 0 transports

• Mound City, 17 calls, 7 transports

• Parker, 7 calls, 2 transports

• Pleasanton 23 calls, 14 transports

• Prescott, 3 calls, 0 transports

Response numbers and times for this time period by Commission Districts are:

District 1 - 31 responses, 17 transports, 13 minutes 1 second average response time

District 2 – 32 responses, 16 transports, 15 minutes 9 seconds average response time 

District 3 – 34 responses, 14 transports, 18 minutes 49 seconds average response time