FINDLEY TOWNSHIP Correctional facility installs warning systems

MERCER, Pa. -- The State Regional Correctional Facility in nearby Findley Township has installed siren and telephone warning systems to alert the public in the event of an emergency at the minimum security prison.
The state had announced the pending improvement to the warning system in January, and Joseph Desuta, superintendent of the facility, said today that they are in place.
The siren has a warning distance of about one mile and will be distinguishable from community police, fire and weather sirens, he said.
The dial-up telephone calling system, known as the Community Alert Network, will be able to contact all businesses and residents within a two-mile radius of the facility within minutes in the event of an escape or emergency situation that requires public notification.
There are 1,051 people or businesses on that list, Desuta said.
The siren will be tested quarterly and the call system will also be tested quarterly, but only on a select group of 25 numbers.
Desuta said the improved warning system isn't an indication that the prison will be making any major changes in its current inmate population or security level of the facility.
They are just public safety notification requirements being put into place across the state by the Department of Corrections, he said.
The prison here has 1,050 inmates.