On Friday, May 16, a massive EF3 tornado tore through the St. Louis area, leaving a path of devastation almost 23 miles long.
Five people died.
During the storms, the city's tornado sirens failed to sound and residents lost a valuable warning that could have saved lives.
Now the CEMA Commissioner, Sarah Russell, has been put on paid leave pending an investigation.
BREAKING: CEMA Commissioner Sarah Russell, who goes by "They/Them" pronouns, is on paid leave after she failed to activate the St. Louis tornado sirens for the deadly storm.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 22, 2025
Five people are now dead. pic.twitter.com/SjHs64dRTc
There is a system of 60 outdoor sirens stationed around St. Louis, which are meant to be activated once the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning for the area as it did on Friday. There are two places where they can be activated: the CEMA office and the Fire Department.
According to Spencer's office, which announced Russell's leave Tuesday, the commissioner was attending an offsite workshop with other emergency management staff when the tornado warning came down, and that prevented them from activating the sirens from their agency's main building, about a half mile away.
Russell instead contacted the Fire Department to activate the sirens, but the directive was ambiguous, the mayor said. Her office released the recording of Russell's call to the department, in which she confirms they are aware of the NWS warning and briefly clarifies the timing of it before saying, 'OK, you got the sirens?' The person at the fire department replies 'Yes, ma'am,' and the call ends.
'The direction was not clear,' Spencer said at a news conference Wednesday morning about the phone call. Russel did not clearly direct the person at the Fire Department to press the button to activate the sirens, she said, adding, 'It's my understanding that the button was not pushed.'
Recommended
Clear, effective communication is essential in emergency management response. If you've ever taken a CPR class, one of the things you learn is to physically point to someone and tell that one person 'Call 911' or 'Get the AED' because if you give a vague 'Someone call 911!' most people will just assume someone else will do it.
Incompetence kills.
— Matt Van Swol (@matt_vanswol) May 22, 2025
It does.
She was at a training workshop to identify how weather events disproportionately impact gender non-binary folx and how FEMA can aid in recovering pronouns after a natural disaster.
— And Don't Call Me Shirley. (@Meme_Behavior) May 22, 2025
The CBS story doesn't elaborate on the workshop, but we'd love to know if this is true.
Paid leave. JFC. Sorry, Lord.
— The Alpha Cow (@Marcus_Porcius2) May 22, 2025
Only government employees get paid leave when they make deadly mistakes at work.
When DEI is an obvious problem, the media quickly runs from the story.
— floridanow1 (@floridanow1) May 22, 2025
Do you know what fixes DEI, about a $100 Million lawsuit by the people that lost their lives.
YUP.
I want to know what her salary was.
— Brick Suit (@Brick_Suit) May 22, 2025
Fair question.
Mentally unwell people do not belong inside our government. It should be automatically disqualifying.
— The Conservative Alternative (@OldeWorldOrder) May 22, 2025
Thankfully the tornadoes missed me & my brother, but this was a very serious situation that was made only worse by her incompetence.
Get these people out of here.
We're glad you're okay.
DEI has consequences https://t.co/5COSRsaUeV
— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) May 22, 2025
Yes, it does.
You had one job. https://t.co/nMAtm0iJwu
— Piper (@piper4freedom) May 22, 2025
One job.
Five dead ‘cause “They/Them” forgot the d**n sirens. Identity politics doesn’t save lives competence does. This ain’t a pronoun parade it’s life or death. Woke hire https://t.co/gn6taodt5M
— MAG🔫1775🇺🇸 (@Mar50cC5O) May 22, 2025
Because a clear directive wasn't given by Russell.
Perfect example of how Democratic fealty to DEI has deadly consequences.
— Rennie 📷🖨🎨 (@RenMarStudios) May 22, 2025
They/Them cannot carry out the most basic job function. https://t.co/fi2Iv25r4B
And they want DEI in every facet of public life, including healthcare.
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