ST. JOSEPH COUNTY — A tornado took direct aim at a Boy Scout Camp in Iowa Wednesday night with devastating results. Tornado sirens did go off, but the scouts only had a few minutes to find shelter before the twister hit. Local emergency management officials say a similar situation could happen here.

Four teenage scouts were killed and four dozen people were hurt when the twister tore through the isolated Iowa campsite. It was one of 30 tornadoes that tore through the Midwest Wednesday. Two other people died in a tornado in Kansas.

Experts say more might have been saved if they'd been warned just minutes earlier. It begs the question of exactly who is charged with setting the tornado sirens off?

In St. Joseph County, the answer is either a South Bend Police Department dispatcher, a St. Joseph County Fire dispatcher, or a St. Joseph County Emergency Management Agency officer.

All 67 tornado sirens across St. Joseph County are triggered simultaneously when the system is activated. After upgrades in 1999 and 2000, the sirens are now audible in approximately 80% of the county.

See tornado siren coverage areas across Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan.

But exactly when the sirens are set off is not an exact science.

On a sunny Thursday afternoon on South Bend's west side, Carla Blue's yard sale was progressing, but slowly.

"We've been out here trying to get rid of all this stuff since last week!" she said.

But when she went to set up shop on Friday she heard something unexpected: a siren. She knew exactly what to do.

"Round everybody up, and take them to the basement," she said.

After all, her daughter Taleah's safety always comes first. It's the same reason she repeated the exact same procedure on Sunday, when the sirens sounded again.

But neither day produced any tornadoes, and even storm damage was minimal. Some say, it's proof the sirens are being overused.

When asked if she went to the basement, Blue's neighbor Junita Smith simply said "Uh-uh."

She then explained why.

"We hear it so often, [you never know when a tornado is actually coming]," she said.

Barb Horka heard the sirens on South Bend's east side, and she had a similar reaction.

"I didn't do anything," she said.

It's particularly troubling for Emergency Management staff. All it takes is the press of two buttons to set the sirens off, but their goal is to make people take the sirens very seriously.

"It can be a fine line," admitted St. Joseph County Emergency Management Agency Director Luther Taylor. "We rely very heavily on the dispatchers, because they're the ones that are likely to get a phone call from a police officer, fire fighter or amateur radio-- someone who's had training."

But even if that phone call doesn't come, or no one sees the tornado forming, Doppler radar often does. And any sort of tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service automatically triggers a dispatcher to push the buttons to make the sirens to go off.

As for them being pushed too much?

"There may be some concerns about overreacting, but we'd rather be safe than sorry," said Taylor. "We play it safe, and we'd ask them to err on the safe side too. It might not be in your neighborhood, but it could be just a few miles away in another part of the county. If you're ever in doubt, take shelter."

But even though St. Joseph County's siren system was upgraded from its previous coverage area of only about 20 percent of the county, it still isn't a foolproof warning system.

"It's not designed for indoors," said Taylor. "It's not that you won't hear it if everything's quiet and you're listening for it. But it's primarily designed for outside."

That's why Taylor says it's a good idea to have backup.

You can buy a portable NOAA weather radio for less than $30 in many convenience stores. It will alert you whenever a severe storm, tornado or flood watch or warning is issued in your area.

You can also sign up for free storm alerts from WSBT that will be sent directly to your cell phone.

Sign up for WSBT Alerts sent directly to your cell phone.

"They're simple steps, but simple things can help save your life," said Taylor.