FAQ

Contact Karen Peters at 515-965-6469 ext. 4105 or kpetersAnkenyiowa.gov during regular office hours to request a vehicle. If you are holding a Block Party, contact the City of Ankeny at 515-965-6400. The permit required for conducting a Block Party includes a request section for the Fire and Police Departments.

You may arrange a tour of the Fire Department by contacting Karen Peters at 515-965-6469 ext. 4105 or kpetersAnkenyiowa.gov during regular office hours.

More Information

If the sirens are activated, it is signaling residents that a tornado is or is highly likely to be near. Take action immediately to protect yourself, your family and your pets.

If you are in a home or building, go to the basement (if available) or to an interior room on the lowest floor, such as a closet or bathroom. Stay away from glass enclosed places or areas with wide-span roofs (such as auditoriums and warehouses). Wrap yourself in overcoats or blankets to protect yourself from flying debris. Crouch down and cover your head.

If you are in a car or mobile home, abandon them immediately. Most deaths occur in cars and mobile homes. Leave them and go to a substantial structure or designated tornado shelter. If no suitable structure is nearby, lie flat in the nearest ditch or depression and use your hands to cover your head.

If you are concerned about an emergency siren in your area, contact the Administrative Offices of the Ankeny Fire Department at 515-965-6469.

The warning sirens are only activated if the National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Warning for this area (northern Polk County) or if an actual sighting occurs by a public safety official.

The outdoor warning system is designed only to inform those who are outside in open areas, of a tornado issued for the area. The system is not designed to warn residents within the confines of a residential, commercial, educational or other occupancy. The sirens are activated by the dispatch consol at the Polk County Communications Center.

You may receive emergency broadcast information from any of the local network television stations, local radio stations or NOAA weather radio systems.

No, the warning signs will not be reactivated to signal an “all clear.” In the event that a previously issued tornado warning expires and a new tornado warning is issued by the National Weather Service, the warning system will be activated again in response to the new warning.

MidAmerican Energy provides electricity to properties in the city of Ankeny. If your power goes out during a storm or other emergency, call MidAmerican’s 24 hour customer service line at 888-427-5632. Even if the outage appears to be throughout your neighborhood, assuming someone else has called to report the outage can delay response time.

MidAmerican reports the following guidelines are used to prioritize outage restoration:

1. The ability to restore service to as many customers as possible through switching and repair of transmission lines. Transmission line repair restores power to a large number of customers.
   
2. Public health and safety issues, for example, hospitals, emergency facilities and municipal flood pumps.
   
3. Outage area size or magnitude.
   

During the entire restoration process, periodic assessments are made to determine facility repair and replacement progress, possible trouble spots and additional resource needs.

The Polk County 9-1-1 system includes both automatic number identification and automatic location identification. These enhancements display to a dispatcher the caller's telephone number and the location from which the 9-1-1 call is being placed. These features allow a 9-1-1 dispatcher to call you back and/or send help when a 9-1-1 call is accidentally disconnected or the caller is unable to communicate.

The 9-1-1 system is also equipped to assist callers with disabilities. The integrated TTY (Teletype) computer allows callers with hearing deficits or speech impediments to call 911 with their TTY-equipped phones. The conversation is then carried on by typing text. This allows all citizens the ability to request help in emergencies.

Yes. Current federal regulations require that 911 Centers and cell phone companies have the capacity to locate a cell phone caller regardless of their location. In accordance with this regulation, all cell phones are equipped with a GPS locator that is activated only when the operator places a 911 call.

Please feel free to contact the Ankeny Fire Department at 515-965-6469 during regular office hours or Polk County Emergency Management Department at 515-286-2107.

Firefighters are very concerned about citizens driving over fire hoses because the hose may be damaged by the vehicle and any firefighter at the end of a nozzle will experience a rapid water interruption and reactivation, which may possibly cause injury or death to a firefighter. Any hose that is driven over without protection has to be removed from service and tested.

To schedule a fire drill, please contact the Administrative Offices of the Ankeny Fire Dept at 515-965-6469 during regular office hours and ask for Fire Marshal Craig Fraser.

If the home is protected with a fire alarm system, make sure the current contact information is updated with the alarm company and Fire Department.

The smoke detector you choose should be photoelectric with both 120 volt and battery back up and should be placed on each floor and in every room used for sleep in your home.

A permit is not necessary. See the rules and regulations for recreational fire pits.

To obtain a permit, contact the Ankeny Municipal Utilities Department at 515-963-3530 during regular office hours.

There are no regulations on holiday decorations as long as they have no affect on traffic and do not cause a nuisance.