You had ONE JOB to do—and you failed to do it.
Sarah Russell was promoted to Commissioner of CEMA in May 2021. They joined CEMA in 2010 as a specialist responsible for public information, community outreach, training, exercise, etc.
This from thegatewaypundit.com
Sarah Russell (They/Them) was fired after the tornado sirens went silent during the massive tornado last week in St. Louis, Missouri.
The tornado swept through St. Louis City on Friday afternoon.
Thousands of homes were damaged. At least five individuals died, and tens of thousands were without power.
Mayor Cara Spencer suspended Sarah Russell as a result of the tornado sirens not having been activated during Friday’s tornado. The tornado ripped through Clayton, the Central West End, and North St. Louis in one of the worst tornadoes in city history.
No one was present in the CEMA office in St Louis city government when the tornado went through on Friday. Sarah Russell bye-bye you need to go you've been incompetent the whole time pic.twitter.com/4UEOg0peKY
— Accountability Warrior 💪💥💪 (@BeAccountable4u) May 19, 2025
CEMA staffers were at a workshop when the tornado ripped through St. Louis.
Great accountability questions from @shoshana_stahl last night. Notice how it takes three times before CEMA Commissioner Sarah Russell finally admits CEMA staffers were at a workshop when they should've been sounding an alarm. Russell also blames fire dept, old battered sirens. https://t.co/JvHSRqvX4A pic.twitter.com/9g7jCYBxJm
— Mark Maxwell (@MarkMaxwellTV) May 20, 2025
Mayor Spencer immediately ordered an internal investigation. The initial focus was to correct the immediate issue, which the mayor did by changing the siren activation protocol to clearly place the responsibility of activating the sirens with the Fire Department.
However, as the investigation continued, the fact there was not just one serious issue, rather multiple issues requiring immediate attention became increasingly clear. The mayor has directed her staff to initiate an external investigation to fully explore all potential issues.
Friday afternoon, CEMA staff, including Russell, were at a workshop at 1520 Market St. and were not at the CEMA office located at 1915 Olive St., where CEMA’s siren activation button is located, despite anticipated storms. As a result, when a tornado warning was issued, Russell or other CEMA staff could not personally activate the siren, and Russell contacted the Fire Department.
At that point, there was a breakdown in communication. The directive to activate the sirens was ambiguous, which cannot happen when a tornado is sweeping through the City and St. Louisans’ safety depends on being alerted immediately.
The Mayor’s Office is releasing the recording of that conversation along with the following statement:
CEMA exists, in large part, to alert the public to dangers caused by severe weather, and the office failed to do that in the most horrific and deadly storm our City has seen in my lifetime.” said Mayor Spencer. “Commissioner Russell has served our City for years and is a person of good will, but I cannot move on from this without providing accountability and ensuring that our emergency management is in trusted hands.
Captain John Walk with the St. Louis Fire Department will lead CEMA until a permanent commissioner has been found.
