SIRENS ARE A PART OF LIFE IN MARION, ILL.

MARION, Ill. -- Marion residents like Dawn Fleming can't imagine living in a town without torando warning sirens.

"What price do you put on life?" she asked.

Fleming is office manager for J&O Communications, the company that maintains Marion's warning sirens.

"You talk to people who have been in tornadoes; they live for those sirens," she said.

Marion residents know the deadly force of tornadoes: In May 1982, a tornado roared through the city of 14,000 killing 10 people.

The city had two warning sirens at the time. Marion officials and residents believe the warning sirens kept the death toll from going higher.

Since then the city has replaced its old warning sirens with five new, rotating ones.

"I think they are a big asset; without them you have nothing," said Marion police Sgt. Richard Wells.

J&O Communications maintains and tests the sirens for the city at a cost of just over $1,000 a year.

"We disengate the sirens so when we test them they don't scare the daylights out of everybody," Fleming said.

To test the sirens, a worker climbs up a ladder and hooks up a small speaker. "That way, only our guy that is on the ladder hears it," she said.

When the sirens sound in Marion, people know it is a real emergency, she said.

What to do in case of a tornado

Understand the difference between a tornado watch and warning

A watch means conditions are favorable for a tornado to develop.

A warning means a tornado has actually been sited.

When a warning is issues

The best place to be is in the basement under a sturdy piece of furniture like a workbench.

If the building doesn't have a basement, go to a small interior room like a close or bathroom.

In a mobile home, even if it is tied down, the best plan is to have a pre-arranged shelter and leave the mobile home.

In a car, leave the vehicle and seek shelter in a safe structure. If no structures are available, leave the vehicle and lie in a ditch with your hands covering the back of your head.

Never try to outrun a tornado.

Some advice has been discounted. The southwest corner of the basement is no safer than any other place in the basement. You don't need to open the windows to equalize pressure. Stay away from windows because danger of flying glass is real.

It is a good idea to have a family tornado drill so everyone knows what to do in an emergency.