WARREN COUNTY — Thousands of people received an emergency notification on their phones Saturday telling them to take shelter. Many of them were not meant to get it.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The Warren County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday that an alert for an active incident in the Landen area of Deerfield Township was inadvertently sent to the wrong areas.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Local restaurant announces temporary closure to complete expansion
- Emergency demolition ordered after house collapse in Dayton
- Another Miami Valley city bans sale of adult-use marijuana
As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, the error worried a lot of people unnecessarily, like those inside Aqua-Tots in Springboro.
“When the sirens and alarms are happening on everybody’s phones, all of our families are concerned,” Leslie Finn, Aqua-Tots regional manager, said.
Finn said dozens of kids were floating in the pool for swimming lessons, with their parents waiting outside. The alert told them to remain inside with doors secured, sending a wave of panic through the water.
“We immediately started closing the blinds, you know, advising everybody to evacuate the pool area, getting everybody hunkered down in our changing rooms,” Finn said.
They eventually received new messages clarifying that the alert was supposed to only go to Deerfield Township.
“And so that’s when everybody was able to take a big deep breath,” Finn said.
The Warren County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) initially said a possible technical malfunction occurred, and an investigation was launched.
“During the investigation, it was determined that the [Integrated Public Alert & Warning System] system did not malfunction, and that the error was human-caused,” the Warren County EMA said.
The error is leading to more in-depth training on the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System and a thorough review and update to the policy instructions.
The Warren County EMA did not explain why they blamed the problem on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
