Brook Park's mayor says changes coming to public safety procedures

Residents in Brook Park told News 5 they did not have any prior warning from the city's tornado sirens on Aug. 6.

"They test them very regularly. I think it's every Saturday at noon or every other Saturday at noon, so we hear them. We know they operate," Amanda Chornak said, "but there was definitely no sirens."

Mayor Edward Orcutt told News 5 that as they look at what the city did right and what areas the city needs to improve upon for future severe storms, the standard operating procedure when it comes to Brook Park's tornado warning system needs overhauling.

“It was terrible for us. It was a terrible experience," Orcutt said.

Orcutt said that the city's fire department is responsible for setting off the sirens.

"Before the fire department was ever were notified about a tornado, the tornado had hit, and that, for us, is something that has to be worked on," Orcutt said.

He added that the city is working on changes to public safety and future severe weather events.

“We have to know exactly what's better protocol moving forward in the future," Orcutt said

He said coming up with safety SOPs and making them better will be essential for them to succeed in case this ever happens again.