Chapter 5.8.2
Updated 23 Sep 2026 · Grant
Trigg Beach has a siren system for warning the public — to clear the water, to call every available lifesaver, and to signal that the water is open again. It belongs to the City of Stirling and covers three zones: North, Middle and South. Most of the decisions below belong to the Duty Patrol Captain, but everyone on patrol should know what the signals mean and what happens afterwards.
Signal | What it means |
|---|---|
Continuous tone | Evacuation — get the public out of the water |
Three short blasts | Lifesaver alert — all available lifesavers respond |
One short blast | The water is open again |
City of Stirling Beach Inspectors activate the siren remotely, and are the only ones who can sound a single zone.
The override switch in the patrol tower sounds all three zones at once. Tower observers use it, and only on the authority of the Duty Patrol Captain.
The normal way is to ask the Duty Beach Inspector over the radio and let them activate it.
Use the override when the Beach Inspector cannot be reached, or when waiting for them would put someone at risk. The Patrol Captain authorises it, and says why over the SLSWA radio network as it happens.
Before you reach for the switch
The siren is heard by the whole beach and everyone near it. Sounding it when it is not needed causes alarm and costs the club public trust. Every activation is a decision the Patrol Captain owns and has to be able to explain afterwards.
Situation | What to do | Signal |
|---|---|---|
Confirmed shark sighting | Ask the Duty Beach Inspector. Override if they are uncontactable, or the delay is unreasonable. | Continuous tone |
Shark attack, major emergency, or anything needing the water cleared | Ask the Duty Beach Inspector. Override straight away if there is immediate danger to life. | Continuous tone |
Mass rescue — calling in every available lifesaver | Ask the Duty Beach Inspector. Override if contacting them is delayed or impractical. | Three short blasts |
Reopening the water once the area is safe | Ask the Duty Beach Inspector. Override if they are unavailable. | One short blast |
Every activation — whether you asked for it or used the override — goes over the SLSWA radio network, with the reason. That is what creates the recorded account of the decision. Keep it short and specific:
For example
“Trigg Patrol Captain authorising full siren activation due to confirmed shark sighting — Duty Beach Inspector uncontactable.”
If you used the override, tell the Duty Beach Inspector as soon as you practically can.
Write it in the patrol log: the time, the reason, whether it was requested or overridden, who authorised it, and that the Beach Inspector was notified.
Report the activation to the Patrol Officer, or the relevant City of Stirling contact, if that is required.
Two situations come up often: the Beach Inspector is contactable but their response time might create risk, and a shark sighting that is not fully confirmed. There is no rule that settles these — the Patrol Captain decides, and the call is theirs.
Put public safety first, say what you are doing and why over the radio, and write it down. A decision that is explained and recorded holds up; a silent one does not.