UK signalling manufacturer E2S Warning Signals has designed and
developed a bespoke siren system to alert people nearby when an RNLI lifeboat
is launching.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the charity that
saves lives at sea. It has 236 lifeboat stations around the coasts of the UK
and Ireland. Its lifeboats are crewed by specially trained volunteers, who
carry pagers. When the pager goes off, alerting them to an emergency at sea,
they drop everything and rush to the station to launch the lifeboat.

The system produced by E2S has special software which produces an alarm
tone combined with a voice message to alert anyone within the immediate
surroundings about the launch. The siren systems have been extensively tested
at a number of locations in conjunction with local communities to ensure their
appropriate effectiveness. The new sirens have now been installed at a number of lifeboat stations across the country. 

A two-second attention-seeking alarm tone is followed by a pre-recorded
voice warning to explain what it means and it aims to warn public on the sea
front and nearby boating traffic to the impending launch. The sirens will routinely
only be sounded between 7am and 10pm at any location.

Neal Porter, Sales & Marketing Director of E2S, commented: “It has
been great to work with the RNLI to support the charity in its lifesaving
mission and to assist in promoting the safety of the crew and public during the
launch of the lifeboats. Our engineering and product development teams worked
closely with RNLI Operations to achieve the specific requirements set out for
the signalling solution we eventually provided.”