***Updated on Tuesday, Jan. 8.***

A warning siren in Puna malfunctioned and sounded inadvertently this afternoon, Civil Defense officials said.

Administrative Officer John Drummond said attempts to shut it off remotely from Civil Defense headquarters in Hilo failed. The “runaway siren” was located in Ainaloa.

Because personnel at the Pahoa fire station were out on a call and initially unavailable to provide assistance, Drummond said a Civil Defense worker was going to drive from Hilo to shut the siren off manually.

Drummond said the siren, which sounded shortly before 4 p.m., might also time-out on its own.

Drummond said Tuesday that the siren had apparently shut off on its own when personnel from the Pahoa fire station reached the site at 4:20 p.m.

The Civil Defense worker later shut off power to the siren to avoid a repeat malfunction. Technicians from the police department’s radio shop are scheduled to inspect the siren on Wednesday, Drummond said.