DENVER (KDVR) — The city of Lakewood has announced it will transition to a new public safety communication strategy — doing away with its traditional outdoor sirens.
The Lakewood Police Department, in a press release on Wednesday, announced that the city will officially deactivate its “outdated” outdoor emergency sirens and transition to Jefferson County’s LookoutAlert system.
Outdoor emergency sirens throughout history have been primarily used to alert residents and community members of severe weather or safety threats; however, the department said the deactivation is a “proactive step toward a more secure future” for the Lakewood community.
“Lakewood’s outdoor sirens, initially installed to provide general warnings to those outdoors, have reached the end of their service life. Their effectiveness is limited by distance, weather, background noise, and their inability to reach residents indoors. Furthermore, these sirens provide only a generic alert, offering no specific information about the type or location of the emergency,” said the police department in the release.
The city’s transition isn’t the first in Jefferson County. Wheat Ridge in 2024 had previously announced it would also be using the new emergency notification system. The Wheat Ridge Police Department told FOX31 that the decision to retire the once-used outdoor sirens came after the replacement cost was between $1.5 million and $3 million.
The police department said the outdoor warning sirens will be deactivated at the end of 2025, and residents will use the LookoutAlert system, which provides community members with customized area notifications.
The LookoutAlert system is free of charge, and residents can sign up online. For those needing assistance, the police department said Jeffcom911 has also launched a dedicated assistance line for the alert system at 720-230-2270.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
