Power Restored to Tornado Sirens, Cause of Malfunction Still Unknown

officials are continuing to investigate the cause of a mechanical malfunction  Sunday night.

The Lemont Emergency Management Agency restored power to all seven of its sirens just before noon Monday, according to Lemont Police Chief Kevin Shaughnessy.

Officials took the sirens offline after an unknown mechanical issue caused them to sound multiple times between 9:15 p.m. and 11 p.m. Sunday.

"As of noon, power has been restored to the sirens, and they are back in working order," Shaughnessy said.

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LEMA Director Tom Ballard and village officials met with a vendor Monday morning to determine a course of action for the faulty sirens, Shaughnessy said.

As of Monday afternoon, the cause of the malfunction was still under investigation.

"Our radio signals were unable to shut (the sirens) down, so that could have been caused a number of things," Shaughnessy said. "It could have been a hacker that somehow accessed the system, it could have been a skipped signal from another community, or even the atmosphere. We're doing our best to identify the issue and make sure this doesn't happen again in the future."

Lemont Police Sgt. Therese Thompson said the  was flooded with calls from concerned residents around 10:15 p.m. The village sent an e-blast at 10:36 p.m. to alert the community of the issue.

The malfunction came just two days after a severe storm ripped through the southwest suburbs, causing widespread damage and power outages.

Tornado sirens were activated in Lemont around 10 p.m. on Friday due to high winds and debris, according to Lemont Emergency Management Director Tom Ballard.

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