Well, it seems they had one singular task – and yet, they couldn’t pull it off.
Sarah Russell ascended to the role of Commissioner of CEMA in May 2021. Their journey with CEMA began in 2010, where they focused on public information, community outreach, training, and general emergency management topics.
In a dramatic turn of events, Sarah Russell was dismissed from their position on Saturday after the tornado sirens failed to activate during a devastating tornado that struck St. Louis City on Friday afternoon.
This natural disaster left thousands of homes in disarray, claimed the lives of at least five individuals, and plunged tens of thousands into darkness without power.
In response, Mayor Cara Spencer suspended Sarah Russell, highlighting the critical oversight of not activating the tornado sirens during an event that wreaked havoc across Clayton, the Central West End, and North St. Louis—marking one of the most severe tornadoes in the city’s recorded 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
Interestingly, the CEMA staff were attending a workshop when the tornado wreaked its destruction. A detail that can only be described as a curious choice of timing.
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
