There’s nothing like a malfunctioning siren wailing for about an hour to set a quiet neighborhood on edge.

It happened to Halawa residents Tuesday — twice within 24 hours — when a glitch set off a siren at Camp Smith just after midnight. Then it happened again in the early evening.

“It’s driving everybody crazy,” Roger Yamane, 68, said Wednesday from his home on Halawa Drive, less than 300 feet from the military base.

The first malfunction occurred at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday and continued for over an hour.

Honolulu firefighters responded and cut a lock to access a system to deactivate it, according to John Cummings, spokesman for the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management.

But the siren malfunctioned again at about 8:30 p.m. The Marine Corps Base sent contractors to shut it off at about 9:20 p.m.

In both instances, the city issued a bulletin to assure the public there was no emergency. Cummings said if residents hear a siren without any emergency information broadcast on the radio and television, “more than likely it’s a malfunction.”

Sgt. Brittney Vella, a spokeswoman for Marine Corps Base Hawaii, said the cause of the malfunction was a “fried” main circuit. “It’s just the wiring went bad,” she said.

Contractors disabled it Wednesday night until replacement parts arrive, and military police officers will be trained to disable the siren should a malfunction occur in the future, she said, apologizing to residents.

Cummings said siren systems generally emit 120 decibels and can be heard 3,400 feet away. Sounds unobstructed by wind or trees probably could travel farther.

Yamane’s neighbor, Johnathan Lorian, 23, said his friend who resides in Waimalu could hear the siren. “It’s really loud.”

Lorian recalled waking up when the first malfunction occurred. Unsure of whether he needed to evacuate, he walked outside to check for any weather problems.

Yamane, who has been living in Halawa for over 60 years, was at work when the first malfunction occurred but said he was alerted to it by his daughter, who lives across the street.

However, he did hear the second malfunction when he was home Tuesday night. “It was loud, my gosh,” Yamane said. He closed all the doors and windows, closed all the curtains and turned up the volume on his television to try to tune it out.

“There was nothing much you could do,” said Yamane, an agriculture inspector at Honolulu Airport. “It’s such a penetrating wail.”