Human error caused the emergency sirens at Indian Point to sound off Friday, despite the fact there was no emergency.

A spokesman for Entergy, which owns Indian Point, said a technician performing a silent test around 3:30 p.m. accidentally activated the sirens across the Westchester County portion of the 10-mile emergency zone. The sirens apparently wailed for less than the four minutes prescribed for a real emergency.

The sirens that sounded were part of a new system that is not yet in operation. Entergy was recently fined $130,000 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for failing to meet an April 15 deadline for the new system.

According to a spokesperson for Westchester County, residents who signed up for the county e-mail service were notified about the accident.

The AP contributed to this story