ORONO – Residents of Orono and Old Town may hear a loud siren this evening, but they shouldn’t be alarmed. The University of Maine will conduct a full-scale test of its emergency warning siren system at 5 p.m. today.

As part of its comprehensive emergency communications system, UM installed one siren on the roof of Class of 1944 Hall last summer. To assure full campus coverage, additional sirens have been added at Androscoggin and York residence halls.

Friday’s test will serve two purposes. It will verify that all of the mechanisms are in proper working order, and it will allow for an assessment of the system’s coverage area.

The test will begin at 5 p.m. with five minutes at partial volume before three minutes at full volume.

It is likely that the sound will be audible in parts of Orono and Old Town.

In the university’s communication system, the siren serves as a signal of a serious matter and those who are on campus should seek information. In an emergency, information will be posted on UM’s Web site and its on-campus e-mail and conferencing system.

In addition, a recorded message at 581-INFO will provide details about the emergency.

Students, faculty members and staff may register with UMaine.txt at www.umaine.edu/umainetxt. The messaging system provides emergency text messages to registered members’ cell phones.