Activation of the siren system comes from one of the three municipalities after accepting the recommendation by an industry. Upon CAER radio notification of an event other than a "for information only", the entity which has primary control of the sirens in the affected area would be advised of the situation.

The Lake Charles Fire Department is the primary activation point for the City of Lake Charles sirens as well as those south of the city. Sirens within the City of Westlake and those between Westlake and Sulphur are controlled primarily by the Westlake Police Department. Sirens within the city limits of Sulphur and south of Sulphur (Carlyss) are controlled primarily by Sulphur Police Department.

The siren located on the Administration building at Louisiana Pigment is the only independent community alert siren in the Lake Area. This was done in response to an release from the facility. This release event could have been considered to be Louisiana Pigment's third worst-case scenario. The release consisted of 2200 lbs of titanium tetrachloride (commonly referred to as "tickle") that included HCL and oxychlorides. After release of the chemicals, the CAER notification system was activated. Nearby residents of Louisiana Pigment stated that they did not hear the CAER sirens. In response to this event, the plant installed a personal community warning alert siren. This siren was installed due to the claim that the nearby residents didn't hear the CAER siren and that CAER notification process was not timely enough to allow the nearby residents time to shelter in place.