Tuesday night’s severe weather put St. Joseph County’s tornado warning sirens to the test.

The test was failed miserably.

“I was the one who actually pushed the button to set the sirens off last night,” said Brent Croymans, Executive Director of the St. Joseph County 911 center. “I can’t say I was surprised that it didn’t work because it wasn’t a tested system. I didn’t have a chance to actually test it before the true emergency came in.”

Ironically, the 67 siren system was scheduled to be tested tomorrow—March 2nd. “We’ve had service techs here all morning working on it. We should have a viable test solution for tomorrow. Once it tests, we are able to actively set the sirens off. Of course, then we’ll let Emergency Management know the backup center is capable of sending out signals when necessary.

The primary warning system is operated by the St. Joseph County Emergency Management Agency but only during daytime office hours according to Deputy Director Kalee Ziots.

The backup system was installed in a new consolidated 911 center in Mishawaka during the second week of February. Unfortunately, severe weather arrived before the scheduled siren test date.

“We urge the public to remember that the outdoor warning system sirens are not meant to be heard indoors and should not be relied upon as the single source of notification in the event of an emergency,” Ziots said in a written statement.

Earlier version:

Some St. Joseph County residents have questioned whether outdoor warning sirens were activated during Tuesday night's tornado warning.

In a media release, the St. Joseph County Emergency Management Agency explained Wednesday that an issue at the new 911 call center prevented the sirens from being used.

The agency reports that they've identified the problem, and they say it's being repaired.

The agency also wants to remind residents that the warning sirens aren't meant to be heard indoors, adding that the sirens shouldn't be relied upon as the single source of notification in the event of an emergency.