Methods for detecting faults in a siren-based alert system include receiving, by a siren device from a central siren controller, an activation command. The activation command identifies a neighbor siren device that is to be activated. Audible alerts output by the neighbor siren device include a unique identifying characteristic associated with the neighbor siren device. The method includes determining that the unique identifying characteristic is not detectable by the siren device and, in response, taking corrective action. The corrective action includes the siren device sending a siren fault notification to the central siren controller indicating a failure to detect the unique identifying characteristic and may also include modifying the audible alert output by the siren device to compensate for the faulty siren device. The siren device may send a siren fault notification to the central siren controller if an unexpected audible alert, such as a potential false alarm, is detected.