PROVIDENCE — Brown University will test its new emergency siren warning system tomorrow between noon and 1 p.m.

Three sirens on top of university buildings will be activated to test the system for the first time. It will include a loud alert tone coupled with voice messages. The purpose of the system is to warn students, faculty and visitors of potentially life-threatening situations.

“We want our entire community to be aware of the test,” said Michael Chapman, vice president of public affairs and university relations. “It is important that people on campus and in the surrounding communities become familiar with the tone and understand that this is only a test. We are doing all we can to ensure that local residents are forewarned about the time that this fairly loud test will occur.”

The system would be activated only for emergencies where there is no advance warning and where it is critical that people immediately seek shelter. For most emergencies on or near the Brown campus, the activation of the emergency warning system will not be necessary. Examples when the alarm would be sounded include a hostile intruder, a large chemical release or unforeseen natural disasters such as tornados.

The problem is that Brown does not exist in a bubble; the campus is in a heavily residential area. Last fall, the president of the College Hill Neighborhood Association, William G. Touret, expressed concern that the blaring of the sirens would be an annoyance to East Side residents.

Yesterday, however, Touret said he dropped his initial objections after meeting with university officials and Leo Messier, the city’s former emergency management director.

“Given the fact that it isn’t a stand-alone system and it is part of a larger, professionally overseen system, we withdrew our initial objections,” he said. “Nobody has heard it yet. We will continue to watch the situation as it evolves.”

The Brown Department of Public Safety would be responsible for activating the alarm, which consists of an alert tone and a message explaining the nature of the emergency.

This system will be used in conjunction with a Web-based alarm that delivers two-way advisories and instructions to nearly 20,000 students and staff via cell phones, land lines and other communication devices. In the event of a real emergency, the city would activate its own warning system, a reverse 911 that calls residents and gives them information about the threat.

Brown will do a full alarm test at least twice a year. Silent testing will be done at least monthly. Notification regarding the university tests will be done through the news media, with separate notifications to the Brown community and neighbors.

lborg@projo.com