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The centre of Europe, breathtaking and diverse nature, hospitable people – these are the pillars of the country we call our home. However, all its beauty and advantages can only be seen and felt if its people feel safe there. It is in this direction that Telegrafia has been able to move forward in Slovakia. How, may you ask?

Let’s start with a summary. As the leading manufacturer of electronic sirens, Telegrafia, in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, has expanded and modernised the network of civil protection sirens used to warn the population in the event of an emergency. A total of 1,088 new remote-controlled 4th generation electronic sirens have been installed in 720 towns and villages in Slovakia. This has increased the warning coverage from 58% to 85% of the population in permanently inhabited areas. The entire upgrade was co-funded by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund under the Operational Programme “Quality of the Environment” for the 2014-2020 programming period. Slovakia could hear the sound and power of the new sirens during their first loud test on 8 December 2023.

The Building Early Warning System project was implemented by the Crisis Management Section of the Ministry of the Interior between 2018 and 2023, followed by the Building Early Warning Systems 2 project with an implementation period between 2022 and 2023.

New electronic sirens were added to the existing network, replacing obsolete electromotive sirens. The locations for their installation were decided in cooperation with the district authorities based on the population size and increased incidence of climate change emergencies, supported by terrain analyses. These were mainly regional and district towns and municipalities with more than 1,000 inhabitants. Previously installed electronic sirens in the regional cities were replaced with more modern ones.

The Early Warning System Building projects bring intelligent modular electronic sirens to towns and cities. The 600 W or 1200 W Pavian sirens can be quickly activated and deactivated, produce high sound pressure over long distances, and have full self-diagnostic capabilities and multiple control and communication options. Built-in batteries allow them to operate for up to 72 hours during a power failure. (Source: www.minv.sk)

The evolution of electronic sirens has been marked not only by their performance but also by the possibilities they offer. Their development has taken a giant leap forward, reflected in every aspect of siren use. Functionalities such as the transmission and reproduction of live voice messages, remote recording of warning tones, and text-to-speech conversion are now a reality. They complement the required level of warning sound pressure and intelligibility of the spoken word and even allow sirens to activate radio or TV broadcasts or any spoken word remotely. The development also concerns the siren control and, last but not least, the power supply of electronic sirens, which can now operate seamlessly thanks to the energy stored in solar panels. The national warning system has been expanded with the addition of 93 mobile electronic sirens, Pavian Car, which can be mounted on cars to provide warning in remote areas or areas without standard siren coverage. Today, every district office or civil protection chemical laboratory is equipped with sirens.

The fact that the Slovak Republic currently has 2,611 warning points is undoubtedly a reason for satisfaction. However, Slovakia is only a tiny part of the world where sirens help to warn and inform the population. And only a small fraction of the territory we are planning to enter in the future. But everything happens step by step.

The article was written by

Róbert Jakab

Robert is like a moving photograph – because he is like a video. He can capture 60 frames per second. Whenever something happens, he records it. Currently, he’s working on smaller videos and hoping to make a feature film one day and then its sequel. Telegrafia 2: Monkey Power