Emergency Management

The Emergency Services Division coordinates the emergency and disaster plan for the village. It is also comprised of the Community Emergency Response Team. Pictured to the right is the incident command vehicle which is deployed for major incidents by the Police Department.

Community Emergency Response Team

CERT, or "Community Emergency Response Team," is an organization of volunteers trained to assist police, fire, and other first responder professionals in locating, treating, and sheltering victims of natural and man-made disasters. The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have been working with local municipalities by providing training materials and funding assistance. One aspect of CERT is educating the public on how to reduce the risks of personal injury and property damage during times of crisis.

If you are interested in joining CERT, please contact the Crime Prevention Officer at (630) 372-4412.

CERT Corner

CERT Corner is a column featuring relevant news, articles, and useful safety tips, as well as notices for public classes on the subject. Click on a link below to view that article.

Severe Weather Preparedness

Outdoor Emergency Sirens

For the safety of its residents, the Village of Hanover Park maintains an Emergency Alerting System designed to warn of impending danger from severe weather or an attack on the United States. Local television and radio stations also participate in the Emergency Alerting System. Local broadcasts can be an excellent source of up-to-date information during an emergency.

Outdoor warning sirens have been strategically placed throughout the Village. These warning devices are designed to alert those who are outdoors of impending severe weather or a military attack. In many cases, these warning devices can also be heard by those who are inside a building.

The outdoor warning system is tested monthly in accordance with State and Federal regulations. During this test, the sirens are activated for a brief period of time on the first Tuesday of each month, shortly after 10:00 AM.

To ensure the safety of Hanover Park residents, the Village maintains a siren monitoring system that exceeds State and Federal requirements. This system tests the ability of each siren to respond to an activation command. The monitoring system checks each siren daily to ensure the siren is operating properly, without actually activating the siren.

There are two standardized warning signals established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and used by the Village of Hanover Park to alert the public and to indicate survival actions to be taken in an emergency. These signals are the ATTACK WARNING and the ATTENTION or ALERT WARNING SIGNAL.

Attack Warning Signal

An ATTACK WARNING SIGNAL is a three to five minute wavering siren tone. The ATTACK WARNING SIGNAL means that an actual attack or missile launch against the United States has been detected and that protective action should be taken immediately. Per federal guidance, "this signal will be used for no other purpose and will have no other meaning."

Attention or Alert Warning Signal

An ATTENTION or ALERT WARNING SIGNAL is a three to five minute steady signal from sirens. Note: The sirens are mounted atop elevated platforms and rotate in order to be heard in all directions. The ATTENTION or ALERT WARNING SIGNAL will change in volume as the siren rotates toward and away from the listener. This should not be mistaken for the ATTACK WARNING SIGNAL which is a rapidly wavering tone. The ATTENTION or ALERT WARNING SIGNAL indicates to all persons to move to a place of safety and "turn on your radio or television and listen for essential emergency information." The Village of Hanover Park will activate the ATTENTION or ALERT WARNING SIGNAL in the event of any of the following:

• A confirmed sighting of a tornado or funnel cloud aloft, reported by a trained spotter, within five miles of any point within the Village of Hanover Park.
• A confirmed sighting, by a trained weather spotter, of severe winds causing structural damage within five miles of any point within the Village of Hanover Park
• The receipt of a tornado warning, issued by the National Weather Service, indicating that the Village of Hanover Park is in the direct path of an oncoming tornado.

In the event of activation of either of these warning signals, residents should move to a place of safety and monitor radio and television stations for additional information including the danger has passed. Please note that there is no siren activation to indicate the danger has passed.

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Village of Hanover Park
2121 West Lake Street
Hanover Park, IL  60133
(630) 372-4200
Hours:
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Fridays, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Thursday, 8:00 am - 7:30 pm

All information © 2008 Village of Hanover Park, Illinois 

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