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Small town at dusk with a siren on a roof, a person going indoors with a child

Sirens are sounding or a warning app reports danger

A rising and falling tone over the town, your phone shrieks. The siren does not say what is wrong – it says: get inside and get informed.

First

  1. Stay calm and go into a solid building. Bring children and pets inside.
  2. Close windows and doors.
  3. Check the radio (regional station), a warning app or the alert on your phone: what is happening, for which area, what should you do?
  4. Follow the authorities' instructions. Call the emergency number only if you yourself are in danger – not to ask why the siren is sounding.

Call emergency services if

  • You or others are in acute danger (fire, water, collapse)
  • Someone has trouble breathing or burning eyes after contact with smoke or gases
  • Someone cannot follow an instruction and needs help, e.g. to leave the area
  • Serious injury or unconsciousness

Emergency numbers for Austria · Change region

What is happening

Sirens, warning apps, alerts sent straight to phones (cell broadcast), radio, television and loudspeaker vans are there to draw people's attention to a danger quickly: a large fire with smoke, a chemical accident, a flood, a severe storm, a power cut. For Germany the BBK names, among others, the warning apps NINA, KATWARN and BIWAPP as well as cell broadcast.

A siren can send only a few signal patterns and no content. It is a wake-up call: attention, check now. What has happened, which area the warning applies to and what you should do – stay inside, switch off ventilation or leave the area – is in the message on the radio, in the app or on your phone.

Signals differ from country to country. In Germany the BBK describes a one-minute rising and falling tone as a warning and a one-minute continuous tone as the all-clear. In Austria the civil protection association names three signals: warning (three-minute steady tone – a danger is approaching, switch on the radio), alarm (one-minute rising and falling tone – acute danger, go to protective rooms) and all-clear (one-minute steady tone). Signals can change; what your municipality states is what counts.

The most common mistake is doing nothing because you cannot see or smell anything outside. The second most common is calling the emergency number to ask why – which blocks the lines for people in real need.

Step by step

Sirens are sounding or a warning app reports danger – Phase 1 of 4The first minutes: inside and informed. Go into a solid building – home, a shop, an office, a doorway. Take children, pets and people nearby with you. Close windows and doors. Tune the radio to the regional station, open the warning app or read the alert on your phone. Do not call 112 just to ask why the siren is sounding.
Phase 1 of 4

Phase 1 of 4

The first minutes: inside and informed

Go into a solid building – home, a shop, an office, a doorway. Take children, pets and people nearby with you. Close windows and doors. Tune the radio to the regional station, open the warning app or read the alert on your phone. Do not call 112 just to ask why the siren is sounding.

The animation shows the key actions of each phase schematically; the text below is what counts.

  1. Phase 1

    The first minutes: inside and informed

    • Go into a solid building – home, a shop, an office, a doorway.
    • Take children, pets and people nearby with you.
    • Close windows and doors.
    • Tune the radio to the regional station, open the warning app or read the alert on your phone.
    • Do not call 112 just to ask why the siren is sounding.

  2. Phase 2

    Read the message and act

    • Answer three questions: what has happened? For which area? What should I do?
    • Do exactly what it says: stay inside with ventilation and air conditioning off, or leave the area by the routes named.
    • Do not go outside to have a look.
    • Only collect children from school or childcare if the authorities say so – usually they are sheltered there.

  3. Phase 3

    Waiting inside

    • Keep following the radio or app – instructions can change.
    • Call or ring the bell of neighbours who hear poorly or have no smartphone.
    • Pass on only official content, no rumours.
    • Keep phone calls short so emergency calls get through.

  4. Phase 4

    All-clear and afterwards

    • Only act once the all-clear comes via radio, app or siren.
    • Follow the advice for afterwards, for example on airing rooms, on fruit and vegetables from the garden or on drinking water.
    • Let relatives know that you are all right.
    • Briefly talk through in the household what went well and what you would do differently next time.

★ Pro tips

What experienced people do differently: proven practice from mountain rescue, fire services, lifeguards and civil protection that beginners rarely know.

  1. In the car: windows up, ventilation on recirculate

    If the warning reaches you in the car, close the windows and sunroof and set the ventilation to recirculate or off. Tune the radio to the regional station. That way you do not draw smoke or gases into the car.

  2. Add several places in the warning app

    Warning apps such as NINA let you watch other places besides your current location. Add, for example, where your parents live or your children's school. Then you also know when a warning applies there.

  3. Seal gaps with damp towels

    If the message says "keep windows and doors closed", also seal door gaps with damp towels. Switch off air conditioning and ventilation. Much less smoke or gas then gets into your home.

  4. For a chemical warning, not the basement

    Many hazardous gases are heavier than air and collect low down. Unless the message says otherwise, an inner room above ground level with few windows is a good choice. Always follow the exact instructions in the warning, though.

What to watch out for

  • The siren does not say what is wrong

    Sirens carry no content. Whether you should stay inside or leave is only in the message. That is why a siren always needs the second step: radio, app or phone.

  • Same tone, different meaning

    In Germany, according to the BBK, a continuous tone means all-clear; in Austria, by contrast, a three-minute steady tone is a warning. So when travelling or after moving, look up what applies locally.

  • Invisible dangers

    Smoke, gases or a flood wave upstream often cannot be seen or smelled when the warning arrives. “There's nothing outside” is no reason to ignore a warning.

  • The fire brigade signal is not a public alarm

    In Austria a separate signal calls out the fire brigade (three times 15 seconds with pauses). It is meant for the crews, not the public. When in doubt, check the radio or app anyway.

  • One channel is not enough

    Sirens do not exist everywhere, a phone needs signal and battery, and an app has to be installed. A battery radio works even during a power cut.

Common mistakes

  • Ignoring the siren because nothing can be seen outside.
  • Calling the emergency number to ask why.
  • Going outside to look or driving to the scene.
  • Collecting children from school or childcare on your own and driving through the danger.
  • Forwarding rumours from social media.
  • Opening windows or returning before the all-clear.

Prepare in advance

  • Keep cell broadcast enabled on your phone and install an official warning app while the network is working.
  • Keep a battery or crank radio ready and note the frequency of the regional station.
  • Look up with your municipality which siren signals apply where you live.
  • Use test alarms (in Germany the nationwide warning day, in Austria the civil protection test on the first Saturday in October): can you hear the siren at home? Does your phone ring?
  • Agree in the household who closes the windows, where the radio is and who calls older relatives.

Special consideration

Children
Children understand sirens better if someone explains beforehand: the sound means “attention, we go inside and listen”, not “something terrible is about to happen”. Listen together during a test.
People who hear poorly or have no smartphone
They often miss warnings. Agree who calls or visits them in an emergency, and pass on only official content.
Pets
Bring animals inside when a warning comes. With smoke or gases the same applies to them as to people: inside, windows shut.

Sources

Your situation

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What have you received?
Who is with you?

Matching entries

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Basics for this situation

Why: Always applies to this situation – regardless of your answers.

All rules of this situation (7)

  1. [not active] If Where are you right now? = Outdoors on foot or by bike

    Go into the nearest solid building – a shop, an office, a doorway. Read the alert calmly once you are inside.

  2. [not active] If Where are you right now? = In the car

    Switch on the car radio. Do not look at your phone while driving – stop safely first. If the authorities say to go into buildings, a solid building gives more protection than the car.

  3. [not active] If What have you received? = Only the siren, no other information

    The siren only says: attention, get informed! What is happening and what to do comes from the radio, a warning app or the alert on your phone.

  4. [not active] If What have you received? = A message with text (app, phone, radio)

    Do exactly what the message says: stay inside with ventilation off, or leave the area. The message applies to a particular area – check whether you are in it.

  5. [not active] If What have you received? = Not sure whether it is a test

    Tests are announced in advance, for example Germany's nationwide warning day or Austria's civil protection test alarm. When in doubt, treat the siren as a real warning until the radio or app clears it up.

  6. [not active] If Who is with you? = Children

    Tell children in simple words what the siren means: “We go inside and listen to what is happening.” Calm and small tasks help more than lots of explanation.

  7. [not active] If Who is with you? = Older people or people needing care, neighbours without a smartphone

    People who hear poorly or have no smartphone often miss warnings. Ring the bell or call, and pass on only what the authorities say.