First CMAS Demonstration

If you haven't heard about it yet, you're going to hear about CMAS. It's the Commercial Mobile Alert System through which cell carriers will "broadcast" emergency alerts to mobile devices within a geographic area. CMAS is slated to be available for use by public safety officials in 2012...at no charge.

The first CMAS pilot is being conducted in San Diego County. It was demonstrated this past week by the San Diego Office of Emergency Services. The County is working with Sprint and the California Emergency Management Agency on the pilot. They've distributed about 100 mobile devices throughout the county that have been adapted to receive CMAS messages.

Per federal law, CMAS can be used for only three things: (1) Presidential alerts, (2) imminent threats, and (3) Amber Alerts. The carriers are to start shipping CMAS-ready mobile devices in 2012.

CMAS is one of the initiatives that fall under FEMA's IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning System) program. Another that's received a good bit of attention lately is digitization of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). We've written a good bit on both programs. See an earlier post on CMAS here and ones on EAS here and here. And, we expect to write still more as these are important initiatives that will eventually touch public safety officials throughout the country. Stay tuned!

All the best,

Rick

Notifications Gone Bad

A couple of recent mistakes with telephone notification systems has the general public agitated, in one case the public scattered across the country.

In one instance, a notification for Creighton University in Omaha about a possible shooting woke up people scattered around the country, some of whom probably had never heard of Creighton. A university spokeswoman said the glitch was related to the vendor Creighton uses, but didn't name the vendor.

In another recent situation Decatur, Illinois used their telephone notification system on two occasions within hours of one another to issue alerts about, first, an Alzheimer's patient, then a missing 16-year-old with medical problems. The notifications covered a five-mile radius, including area outside the city. Some residents complained that they should have not received the message. A city spokesman acknowledged that the notifications perhaps could have been confined to a more restricted area. However, he urged residents not to use the incident as a reason to ask to be removed from the notification lists.

Hard to tell what should have been done differently in the first situation. I'm sure Creighton and the vendor are working to make sure it doesn't happen again. In the second one, perhaps the city did notify an area too wide. We shouldn't second-guess. But, we do like the fact that the city spokesman was quick to say, hey, we may have over-reached...but, don't ask to be taken off the call list.

This is not a perfect science. Mishaps will occur. Better they occur by notifying too many people than not enough people. Let's learn from the mistakes, and move on.

All the best,

Rick

Emergency Notification and the Deaf Community

An ongoing concern among emergency managers across the country is how to adequately alert and notify citizens with disabilities. The topic is complicated (too complex for a simple blog post). However, I do want to pass along some insight gained recently in discussions with IPAWS staff and senior leaders of the Georgia Tech Center for Advanced Communications Policy (experts on communications technologies for people with disabilities). This particular insight relates to individuals who are deaf from birth and how their communication requirements may differ.

I have to admit a certain degree of confusion and lack of understanding on this issue. Over the years, we have witnessed members of this community express a desire to have alerts pushed to recipients in video format that would feature an interpreter creating a sign-language version of the message.

In my ignorance, I wondered why text-based methods simply did not suffice (SMS, email, TDD/TTY)--particularly since pushing video to large groups of people has network implications (especially during a crisis) and a practical challenge exists in having the equipment and resources to capture "broadcast quality" video at the local emergency management level.

I've since learned that citizens who are deaf from birth process information differently from others who do not have hearing deficiencies (different even from those who have developed deficiencies over time or as a result of an injury). Sign language itself is more "conceptual" in nature--not a literal translations of all words. And, conceptual interaction typically forms the basis of communication for individuals who did not initially learn to process information through hearing. As such, communications in text form may not carry the same meaning as communications in the conceptual signing form.

Given this, it would certainly be prudent for emergency managers to investigate ways of providing alert messages in sign language forms. How can this be achieved practically? There are a couple of resources worth looking into.

First is a resource named DeafLink. This organization offers sign language interpretation to anyone interested in reaching the deaf community, including government agencies. They provide support for emergency management and first responder agencies through their Accessible Hazard Alert System (AHAS). According to its website: "In minutes after receiving authorized emergency information, Deaf Link produces an 'air ready' alert for broadcast by cable or television stations in sign language, voice and text."

A second interesting resource is Signtel. Signtel is offering a beta application that claims to be able to translate text into sign language automatically in real time. According to its website: "Users can create messages by typing text or using speech recognition. The system translates the message into Sign Language video, which can then be transmitted along with the text and voice message..."

While we do not have first-hand experience with either of these services, they certainly seem worthy of exploration. Whatever the approach, we believe emergency managers should carefully consider ways to enhance their notification programs to ensure alerts and warnings are equally accessible to everyone in the community.

Thanks to Dr. Helena Mitchell, Salimah LaForce, and Frank Lucia of Georgia Tech's Center for Advanced Communication Policy, and to Al Kenyon of FEMA IPAWS for their input.

Best regards,

Lorin

City of New York Begins Silver Alerts

Today, City of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed legislation establishing a Silver Alert notification system. According to a press release by the mayor's office, more than 250,000 people within the city suffer from from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia that contribute to people wandering away from caregivers. As such, this vulnerable population is at risk of injury or death.

With the signing of this legislation, the Police Department will be charged to develop and implement a means for sharing information about missing seniors who may be in imminent danger. Shared information will include a person's name, age, brief description, and the area where they were last seen or the description of the car they may have been driving. Public notifications will be sent through various outlets to include NotifyNYC (the city's automated notification system), television and radio, as well as hospitals, senior centers and other institutions.

We see this as a growing trend across the country and applaud New York's efforts to use emergency notification technology as a valuable life-saving tool.

Best regards,

Lorin

Interesting New Twist on Alerting Program

The State of New Jersey has announced that it is "re-introducing" its public alert and warning system. "New Jersey Alert" does the typical things of services of this type: allows residents to sign up to get text message and telephone call alerts.

But, here's something rather cool we've not seen before. As residents sign up for New Jersey Alert, they can also sign up to provide professional assistance to responders. New Jersey calls it The Human Emergency Grid™.

The Grid's creator is a volunteer organization called United Alert, which used the following words to explain: "....a collaborative effort in which the general public can volunteer their professional expertise to assist responders, if needed, in the event of an emergency. The service can also be used as a social networking tool. For example many groups have already been created to promote a collaborative environment between the government, private sectors and general public."

Now, that's the type of creativity we like. It consolidates the alert and warning program with another program. What would be some other possible links to alert and warning we've not seen?

All the best,

Rick

FEMA Approves CAP 1.2

FEMA has announced that it has approved the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) version 1.2. This means that industry now officially knows how to properly format CAP messages to conform to a standard that's taking hold. And, it means that emergency managers now know what standard to ask their vendors to meet so that emegency alerting messages are spoken in the same language to facilitate more diverse modes of communication.

The industry sector most focused on the CAP 1.2 standard at the moment are the vendors who make equipment that support the Emergency Alert System (EAS). FEMA, the FCC, and broadcasters are modernizing and enhancing EAS. CAP 1.2 is an integral part. With the FEMA announcement made, the FCC now starts a 180-day clock ticking for requiring broadcasters to have CAP 1.2 equipment in place. Some broadcasters and equipment makers say the CAP standard is not enough, that they need still more information before they can put new EAS equipment to work. Lisa Fowlkes of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau today (Thursday) told radio broadcasters at the Radio Show conference that their concerns are being heard and reviewed by the FCC.

Implementation details aside, emergency managers and broadcasters should be communicating about how new EAS works and what new opportunities it presents. We know of at least at least two capital cities who are using EAS modernization as an opportunity to put new equipment in place so the local EMA will have ability to activate EAS without going through the National Weather Service or the state. Perhaps others who don't have this capability should be discussing the same. And, certainly, as we've posted before, this would be a good time for emergency management officials to sit down with their local broadcasters to talk about how they can work together toward a better informed public.

All the best,


Rick

EMA Directors and Broadcasters, Unite!

We had an opportunity last week to attend a meeting between a county emergency management agency and local broadcasters in a mid-sized community in the mid-west. Over twenty members of the local Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) were there to talk about how they could work better with local emergency management. OK, let's face it. Broadcast engineers are not necessarily an exciting lot. But, in this meeting, they were getting excited.

There were a couple of things getting them excited. First, they were trying to understand new requirements surrounding the Emergency Alert System (EAS). EAS is being digitized, so the broadcasters must buy new equipment that will receive messages based on the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP). Before too long, FEMA will announce that it has approved the CAP 1.2 standard. Broadcasters will then have 180 days to put new equipment in place. When asked how they feel about the requirement, they slapped me around a bit and said, in effect, "it doesn't matter how we feel, we're going to do it because it's a requirement".

The second thing getting them excited, and this is really the point of the post, was the fact that the county had taken the initiative to get their opinion about the county's plans to enhance its notification program - sirens, telephone notification, etc included. This excitement was positive. They clearly appreciated the county asking for input. And, the main theme of their input was, make sure other notification technologies used by the county also follow CAP standards. They liked the idea of the same message, in the same format, being used to activate EAS and other notification tools. (Now, this is not to suggest that EAS is activated everytime the county uses their other notification tools.)

Certainly, it's not uncommon for local public safety and broadcasters to work together. But, this would be a good opportunity for emergency management and other public safety to step up engagement with broadcasters and local cable companies. The CAP requirements have them talking. So, why not seize the opportunity to sit down with them, hear their concerns, and talk about ways to better work together? Local SBE chapters are a good place to start.

All the best,

Rick

Radio Used as Backbone for Notification Test

This week, Metis Secure Solutions announced the completion of a project funded by FEMA to illustrate the effectiveness of sending emergency alerts through the FM Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS) method. RBDS is a U.S. radio industry standard for transmitting digital information to radio receivers. It's the technology that drives your ability to see song/artist information on a car radio, and can be used to deliver other types of data such as emergency alert messages.

There were four tests--one of them originating with the common alerting protocol (CAP) format. Each alert activated voice, text, lights and sirens (these devices are capable of receiving and interpreting the radio signal). Alert text was sent in English and Spanish, and the alert voice was activated in English, Spanish, and Korean.

Typically, mass notification systems rely on Internet protocols or mobile phone networks. It will be interesting to see what future applications emerge as this radio-oriented concept continues to gain traction.

Best regards,

Lorin

FEMA Conducting National Alert & Warning Inventory

Emergency managers, don't be surprised to hear from a FEMA contractor with lots of questions about your local public alert and warning systems. FEMA is doing a nationwide inventory to find out the depth of alert and warning systems across the country. Here are some of the things you may be asked:

- What functions are your system designed to accomplish, and how often is it used?

- Who has authority to activate, and under what conditions?

- What's your system's brand and age? Are you pleased with it?

- What are the costs: maintenance, labor, utility, and training?

- Is the system accredited/certified?

- Is the system backed-up and how?

Plus, FEMA wants to know if you have public alert and warning systems that are not currently operational or cause a distraction for one reason or another. And, if you have desires for systems you don't already have, FEMA wants to know about that, too.

The survey is being conducted by a contractor for the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) program. Results will be used to help IPAWS accomplish its Congressional and Presidential mandates to provide integrated services and capabilities to state and local authorities to enable them to alert and warn communities through multiple communications methods.

At this point, the most "mature" IPAWS initiatives are digitizing the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and working toward a 2012 launch of cellular broadcast alerts through CMAS (Commercial Mobile Alert System). IPAWS has also been showing off a demo system that uses a wide array of communications methods...lots of lights flashing, and sounds blaring. (Congress is getting a demo of it this week.)

We're interested in getting comments on IPAWS, in learning more about what people know about IPAWS, and how IPAWS can do a good job of making sure the right people know about it. Feel free to contact me at rick.wimberly@galainsolutions.com or Lorin at lorin.bristow@galainsolutions.com or comment through the post.

All the best,


Rick

3 Alerting Companies Make Top Growth List

Three companies that sell emergency notification solutions have made "The Inc. 5000". The Inc. 5000 is Inc. business magazine's list of the 5000 fastest growing companies in the U.S. The three companies are MIR3, Amcom, and Send Word Now.

MIR3 finished 865th with reported growth of 348%. Amcom was 895th with 336% growth. Send Word Now finished in place 1228 with 243% growth.

MIR3 and Send Word Now appear to focus primarily on the private sector, but claim government customers, too. Amcom sells lots of other public safety stuff, in addition to automated notification.

With major changes ahead for the industry, we'll be interested in seeing who finishes where next year.

All the best,

Rick

New Jersey Looking to Create a Specialized Notification Registry

New Jersey is in the process of passing a bill to create a specialized emergency notification registry. The voluntary registry would be used specifically to notify family members when a person is involved in a serious automobile accident.

According to an AP article by Bruce Shipowski, the measure would allow individuals with a New Jersey driver's license or state identification card to submit the name and telephone number of an emergency contact to the Motor Vehicle Commission. If the person is seriously injured or killed in an auto accident, law enforcement personnel would use the registry to notify the emergency contact.

The measure is known as "Sara's Law," in honor of Sara Dubinin, a 19-year-old resident of Sayreville, NJ who was critically injured in an auto accident. It took responders 90 minutes to determine her identity and notify her parents. Tragically, Sara slipped into a coma en route to the hospital and never regained consciousness.

While this is not a mass notification solution of the type we typically discuss here, it will be interesting to follow nevertheless for two reasons. First, state-wide notification initiatives of various types are being considered across the country. Though limited in scope, this is another example of a state legislature recognizing the need for some form of notification system.

Second, assuming this measure passes, it will be interesting to see how the public responds to sign-ups. Convincing citizens to sign up for voluntary registries is no small feat as evidenced by notification programs across the country. However, the simplicity and focused nature of the program may compel people to participate. It's reminiscent of the "ICE (In Case of Emergency)" initiative where people are encouraged to enter emergency contact information in their mobile devices under the heading of "ICE". This idea was conceived in 2005 by an EMT in the United Kingdom and has spread virally across the globe in a relatively short amount of time.

Will this pass and be a successful statewide initiative? Only time will tell. In the meantime, the public discussion certainly helps highlight an important issue.

Best regards,

Lorin

Watch Out for Fake EAS Tones

There's a radio commercial that's been airing in some markets that's accidentally setting off Emergency Alert System (EAS) alerts. The commercial by the gas company Arco uses the same tones used to activate EAS alerts.

The Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) has put its members on alert. The problem exists only in markets where the Arco commercial is airing on local radio stations and, according to the SBE, where certain equipment is used by the local stations.

SBE has posted the commercial here.

Arco is owned by BP. Now, we have to wonder, BP, don't you have enough trouble already?

All the best,

Rick

When Good Notifications Go Bad

The Fourmile wildfire just outside of Boulder, Colorado is thankfully mostly contained as of this writing. However, discussions surrounding a partial failure of the county's emergency notification system may remain heated for some time. Just over 2600 residents did not receive emergency notification evacuation notices during the height of the wildfires.

The situation highlights a reality for emergency managers. No doubt, ENS technology is an indispensable technology for public safety. However, technologies fail and people make mistakes. So how should emergency officials respond when things don't go as planned with a notification? Here are a few tips to consider.

Have a backup plan.
Experienced emergency managers know you have to be prepared for any contingency. This holds true for notification as well. Consider the actions required if the ENS is not operational and develop response plans accordingly.

Preventing is better than fixing.
Some problems can be addressed before they arise through operator education and exercising. Consistent training and simulation is critical to keeping problems away before they start (or at least identifying problematic issues when there is no ongoing crisis with which to contend).

Don't forget to test.
Along these lines, make sure you frequently and regularly test both your systems and your procedures. We have seen agencies faithfully perform system tests, but forget to regularly evaluate internal procedures.

Keep citizens informed of problem causes and improvements.
It's never fun to be in the media cross hairs after a problem has occurred. However, it's important to be open and honest with what really happened. Accurately describing failures and communicating commitments about problem corrections will go a long way towards rebuilding trust.

From our perspective, officials in Colorado dealt with a difficult situation as well as one could hope. Everyone in the industry can learn from this event and prepare themselves should emergency notification events fail to meet expectations.

Best regards,

Lorin

Approaching Hurricane Stimulated Social Media for Alerts

Morris County, New Jersey has always appeared to us as being progressive in its emergency management practices. The county took another step recently when it appeared that Hurricane Earl was threatening the area. The county launched Twitter and Facebook alerts. A handful of people signed up, but enough for the county to get enthused about it.

We're hearing more and more of this type of alerting, and we like it. But, as the local newspaper The Daily Record reported the county's web master as saying "this system is meant to augment, not replace, existing emergency notification systems." Certainly, social media won't reach everyone...but, the number of people it's reaching is growing every day. (Even my mom is on Facebook.) And, it's really not that hard to set it up. It falls in beautifully with the "systems of systems" approach where multiple modes of communication are used simultaneously to issue alerts and warnings.

Way to go, Morris County!

All the best,

Rick

Microsoft Vine, the Emergency Notification Tool, is being Shut Down

Microsoft has announced it is abandoning its beta program for Vine. Vine was unveiled last mid-year as a tool for helping friends and family stay in touch during emergencies. As it was designed, it would have given individuals ability to post information that would help keep others updated during an emergency.

News feeds would have been available, such as information from local emergency managers. Facebook updates could have been used. But, mostly, it was a place where someone could post their status during an emergency so that others could check on them.

No word on why Microsoft has decided to kill Vine. But, we can't help but note that Facebook and Twitter have been creating a lot of buzz lately as tools for use in emergencies. We don't believe Microsoft's decision to shut down Vine is an indication of the public's appetite for this type of application during emergencies. Using social media for emergencies is beginning to be a way of life, ready or not.

All the best,

Rick

Emergency Management a Pawn in FM Chip Debate

There's quite a broohaha underway over whether chips for receiving FM broadcasts should be added to mobile devices. Emergency management is often mentioned.

Broadcasters argue loudly that FM chips should be placed in mobile devices to help support the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and information radio stations broadcast during critical events. Broadcasters want this so badly that the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) says it will support new music royalties for broadcasters, if the FM chips become mandatory.

NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton blogged that "Arguments against this pro-consumer feature have been long on exaggeration, rhetoric, and factual inaccuracies." Then, he listed a long post to counter criticism about radio-enabled mobile devices. Public safety was prominent among his arguments. In his post, he showed a sign posted by local authorities after a tornado touched down in Alabama, saying tune to a local radio station for directions and information.

On the other side of the argument are cellular carriers and the companies that make mobile devices. They say adding FM chips will shorten battery life and make the devices heavier and more costly. Six associations, including the Consumer Electronics Association, recently sent a letter to Congress saying, “Calls for an FM chip mandate are not about public safety but are instead about propping up a business which consumers are abandoning as they avail themselves of new, more consumer-friendly options.”

This has become a heated battle, one that emergency managers will want to watch.

All the best,

Rick

Promoting Preparedness with Community Notification

As most of you know, September is National Preparedness Month--a time to increase public awareness on preparing for disasters. Historically, compelling people to proactively ready themselves for bad things (particularly when no imminent threat exists) has proven to be difficult. For example, last year, the American Red Cross found in a national survey that 89% of Americans believed it was important to prepare for disasters, but only 57% said they had taken steps toward preparedness.

So how can emergency notification systems aid in citizen preparation?

Promoting preparedness with ENS.

ENS systems are powerful tools for informing citizens quickly and efficiently. As such, local agencies should consider using them to encourage citizen preparedness. While automated calls are not appropriate for imparting a great deal of detail, here is some information you may wish to communicate:

- Refer citizens to online resources such as www.ready.gov that describes items to include in preparedness kits (or better yet, refer them to your local emergency management site that includes this information).

- In addition to "hard goods" preparation such as water and flashlights, encourage the development of personal communications plans. Provide details on your website.

- Promote sign-ups for mobile devices. Make this an easily identifiable link on your preparedness web page. Even if your initial calls don't hit unregistered citizens (those with cell phones only), your message may reach them "virally" from those who do receive it.

- Encourage notification recipients to help others prepare (particularly at-risk populations such as the elderly and special needs citizens).

While the option of sending mass notifications may not be available to all emergency managers due to funding or data licensing issues, many can take advantage of this useful communications tool to remind citizens of their own role in responding to critical events. The end result is a safer, more protected population, which seems to me is the primary goal of a notification system anyway.

Best regards,

Lorin

More Mainsteam Media Attention for Alerts and Notifications

For the second time in the past months, emergency notification has received a nice plug from a national business publication. Inc. magazine, which touts itself as "The Magazine for Growing Companies", cited CiviGuard in a near-front-of-the-magazine article about Gov 2.0. Inc. says Gov 2.0 brings "the virtues of the Web to government". It described CiviGuard as a "high-tech version of the old emergency broadcast system. Alerts are distributed through smartphone apps and text messages."

In its July edition, Inc. did a profile on Nixle, a notification service that allows public safety to push out text alerts at no charge.

Interesting that such a widely read "mainstream" publication that doesn't focus on public safety has written articles twice recently about an industry that serves a niche market within public safety. It's also interesting that neither CiviGuard nor Nixle have historically strong market shares in the notification industry.

Is something afoot? Perhaps so. The notification and alerting "space" is becoming increasingly important (maybe even interesting), and the big-time players in the industry may be changing. Certainly, the large cell carriers are entering the field. See our recent post on Sprint and the State of California conducting the first pilot of CMAS, the Commercial Mobile Alerting Service. If the timeframes stick, by 2012, emergency managers throughout the country should be able to provide text alerts to cell phones within a selected geographic area...at no charge...through Sprint and other carriers.

Times, they are a'changin', and people, they are a'watchin'.

All the best,

Rick

ENS and Protecting First Responders

Much has been said about the benefits of emergency notification for ensuring public safety. As Rick and I attend the Fire Rescue International Show in Chicago, however, it occurs to us how little has been said about the benefits of emergency notification for first responder safety. Here are a few thoughts on how ENS provides for a safer responder environment:

Reduced panic.
At times, we hear concerns from emergency managers that mass calling will incite panic among citizens making the situation worse while placing first responders in even greater danger. Though one can imagine certain limited scenarios where this might be the case, empirical research and years of practical system usage by agencies across the country do not support this fear. Instead, clear information provides some measure of comfort to citizens, reducing panic and irrational behavior while creating a safer environment for responders.

Reduced threats.
Danger criminal behavior may occur both during and after critical events such as a disaster. One of the interesting findings post-Katrina was looting and rioting (perhaps more limited in frequency than portrayed in the media) occurred with more frequency several days into the crisis; a key driving factor behind the behavior was uncertainty and a lack of communication on when conditions would change. While analogies aren't perfect here as notification systems did not have power or infrastructure to work immediately after this disaster, the principal nevertheless remains. Poor or no information can lead to erratic and dangerous citizen behavior placing first responders in greater harm.

Appropriate public response.
A study on the San Diego wildfires of 2007 (covered previously in our blog) examined the impact of emergency notification on citizen behavior. A key finding emerged: people who received an alert were more likely to follow evacuation instructions than those who did not. Citizens following these types of instructions create a safer environment for responders, particularly in diminishing problems with access and egress.

Intelligence & situational awareness.
A final way emergency notification technology provides safety for first responders is in the knowledge gained from citizens as a result of an alert. Many examples exist of responder agencies issuing alerts and citizens calling back to identify the whereabouts of a criminal or provide other useful information. As knowledge is power, such intelligence allows for a better prepared response and a less risky operation (at least to some degree).


While ENS is clearly a significant tool for protecting local citizens, it is also a tool for protecting the protectors. With an effective notification program, everyone wins.

Best regards,

Lorin


Galain Solutions, Inc. helps public safety agencies develop effective emergency notification programs. For more information, email: info@galainsolutions.com.

First CMAS Pilot Announced

The Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) could be a game changer for notifications, alerts, and warnings. CMAS is a program under FEMA's IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning System) through which cell carriers will deliver emergency messages for local, state, and federal authorities via cell broadcast. In effect, public safety officials would have ability to activate, first, text messages to cell phones within a specific geographic area. Later, voice messaging would be added. CMAS would be used for by the feds for Presidential messages, and could be used by locals for imminent threats and Amber Alerts. Cell carriers aren't required to participate in CMAS, but most will. If they don't, an FCC rule requires them to let subscribers out of their contracts.

CMAS is to be fully deployed by 2012. Sprint beat the other carriers to the punch by announcing its first CMAS pilot this week. The pilot will be in San Diego County through a Sprint partnership with the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services and the California Emergency Management Agency. The pilot is scheduled to launch this fall.

Sprint customers in San Diego County won't automatically be able to receive the alerts, even when the pilot begins. Mobile devices will need technology embedded to receive the messages, and most devices don't have it yet. Regardless, announcement of the pilot is progress. We'll all be watching.

For more on the announcement, see the article in Government Technology here.

All the best,

Rick

Flood Alert Comments Filed

When the Army Corps of Engineers issued its after-action report on the May floods in Middle Tennessee, it cited significant communications challenges. Could those challenges have been overcome with a good automated notification solution? We believe so, and said so when we were asked to file an official comment on the after-action report. (See after-action report here, and Galain's comments here.) Perhaps, there are lessons for others.

The after-action report said when the rains first appeared to threaten significant flooding, Army Corps personnel failed to respond to Corps commander's initial email about flooding potential. The report said delays resulted in "slower communications up the chain of command regarding the potential severity of the event". The emails were not raid, the report said, "perhaps from an overload of emails in inboxes".

No doubt many of you are wondering if email is really how the Corps communicates. Well, apparently so, according to the after-action report. In our response, we said, "While email can be an effective way of communicating certain information, it is a poor way of disseminating critical information that requires immediate action". Clearly, an automated notification system would have helped. The Corps' after-action report said they would start using "telephonic notifications". We said good move, but encouraged the Corps to look beyond simply using telephonic notifications. Instead, adopt a system that automates the phone process and uses other modes of communication as well.

The Corps also noted significant challenges in communications with the public. The Corps said it really doesn't have responsibility for notifying the public; that's responsibility of the National Weather Service. Yet, the report cited several significant public notification challenge.

• Corps personnel “fielded numerous phone calls from the public during the flood event requesting information on the extent of flooding expected in their area.”


• “With minimum personnel available the calls diverted staff time away from developing and implementing reservoir system operations plans.”


• “This event occurred over the weekend, when limited personnel were in the District office to handle communications with the public.”

So, even if the Corps doesn't have "official" responsibility, they've clearly got a problem on their hands. The public wasn't well-informed and, whether the Corps was ready or not, the public turned to the Corps for information.

In our response, we didn't suggest that the Corps take over responsibility for informing the public in a significant flood event. However, we did encourage the Corps to take an active role in supporting a strong public notification program. They need to consider themselves a partner in such, roll up their sleeves, and get involved in any initiatives to improve the public alerting situation...including supporting a modernized Emergency Alert System in Tennessee.

Despite the very serious flood event, the middle Tennessee area was, well, lucky. Communications could have been much worse. For the most part, power was not interrupted. Had it been, which is common occurrence in flooding, the situation would have been much worse.

Let's all learn from the Corps. They may have not a number of things right, but they're being open about their challenges and seem genuinely interested in doing better next time...and, there will be a next time.

All the best,

Rick

How Will Social Media be Utilized in a Crisis?

How will citizens utilize social media in a crisis? The answers may surprise you.

While many view Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites simply as hobbies for "wired" young people, evidence is surfacing showing how social networks are becoming important tools and considerations for both citizens and responders during a crisis situation.

Douglas Idugboe makes this point in a blog post covering social media trends. He highlights a study just released by the American Red Cross entitled "Social Media in Disasters and Emergencies." The findings were released ahead of Thursday's Emergency Social Data Summit in Washington, D.C.

The online survey of just over 1000 Americans 18 years and older examined a representative sample of the U.S. population. Findings from the study include:

• One in six have used social media to get information about an emergency
• About half of respondents would sign up for emails, text alerts, or applications to receive emergency information such as location of food, evacuation routes, etc. (presumably during an event as we know sign up rates are not that high typically)
• About half say they would mention an emergency through their own social media channels
• Just over half say they would send a text message to an available response agency if someone they knew needed help (implications for the NG9-1-1 discussion)
• During an emergency, almost half would use social media to let loved ones know they are safe. The vast majority (86%) of these would use Facebook to accomplish this.
• Almost 70% say response agencies should regularly monitor their sites and respond to postings for help

As expected, younger people are more likely to request help from social media or text messaging. Only 39 percent of people over the age of 35 say they would ask other people on networks such as Facebook to help them get assistance, whereas 55 percent of people aged 18 to 34 say they would. However, in some areas, older and younger apparently agree. 18% say they would use digital media to ask for help in an emergency if they could not reach 9-1-1.

Though online behaviors in response to public warnings were not examined specifically in this study, we can nevertheless imagine how social media plays a role. Clearly, citizens expect to use these information channels to validate and enhance their knowledge of a situation. And, an increasing number expect to be able to interact with responders through them. Though still in its early stages, social media should be a growing consideration for emergency managers across the country.

Best regards,

Lorin


Galain Solutions, Inc. helps public safety agencies develop effective emergency notification programs. For more information, email: info@galainsolutions.com.

Another State Takes on Silver Alerts

Add Massachusetts to the list of states that have expanded their Amber Alerts to include Silver Alerts. Now, when a senior citizen with memory loss, such as Alzheimer's is missing, authorities can engage the community to help find the senior through special alerts.

The Springfield Republican newspaper wrote: “I think it’s going to be wonderful,” said Janet Rodriguez-Denny, director of Elder Affairs in Springfield. “It’s another resource families can have to help care for their families.” Rodriguez-Denny said the Springfield Police Department has always been helpful in such cases, and this new system will be especially useful if an elder wanders into a neighboring town. “Society is very mobile these days,” she said. “This is going to reassure families.”

Finding Alzheimer's "walk offs" has long been a popular use for automated notification systems. Back in the day when we were first introducing the automated notification concept to officials, their eyes lit up when we told them stories of the technology being used to find seniors. (Politicians liked hearing the stories, too.)

Other states are considering Silver Alerts, and we suspect eventually, most will adopt them.

All the best,

Rick

OASIS Announces Approval of Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) 1.2

The OASIS open standards consortium announced today they have officially approved the Emergency Data Exchange Language (EDXL) Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) version 1.2. CAP 1.2 is now an official OASIS standard.

EDXL-CAP is a standard protocol for structuring an alert message, enabling various types of warning systems to issue the same message simultaneously. It is designed to work with a wide variety of alerting media, including broadcast, mobile devices, email, etc. It is also an integral technology standard within FEMA's IPAWS program. The new release offers support for digital signatures, enhancing message security and authentication.

According to the press release, CAP will be featured in the OASIS demo booth at the IAEM show, October 28 - November 4 in San Antonio.

Best regards,

Lorin

Are Sirens Really Worth the Investment?

The Wall Street Journal recently featured an article on the public warning siren system in San Francisco. It seems the city has 104 sirens in the area and has invested approximately $500,000 over the last two years to expand the network. The problem, according to the author, is in the six decades these sirens have been in place, they have never been used for warning the public.

The article raises questions many emergency mangers face as they evaluate what to implement with regards to public warning systems. No one in public safety wants to waste taxpayer dollars, yet the public expects to be protected in a crisis. What is a conscientious emergency manager to do?

We don't have all the answers, but here are a few thoughts that come to mind after reading the article.

We must prepare for events that may not happen. Emergency managers are trained to deal with and prepare for the unthinkable. You've all received training and developed contingency plans you hope will never actually be needed. Sure the public may have a hard time understanding why money is spent on systems that have not been used in decades. However, under the right circumstances these sirens could save lives and property. The public certainly expects every effort will be made to protect them in a crisis, and systems like this may help achieve this goal.

"Contextual" alerts may work best for methods such as sirens. The challenge of traditional sirens is no content on the nature of the alert is conveyed during an alert. Loud tones do not convey anything specifically and it is easy for the public to ignore the warnings (in San Francisco's case, the sirens actually function as a public address system, though this is frequently not the case across the country). According to the article:

"When a siren goes off, instead of panicking or seeking out more information most people tend to behave with indifference and assume that the siren went off at the wrong time," says Dennis Mileti, director emeritus of the Natural Hazards Center at Colorado State University."

I haven't seen the research on this, but I suspect sirens dedicated to a specific type of alert (contextual alert) will be more effective than a generic "all hazards" alert. In our part of the country, for example, tornadoes are fairly frequent weather events. Our town has sirens in place activated when a tornado warning is issued. People are aware of these and know to tune to media when they go off (unless it's a beautiful sunny day when they're testing them). These are known locally as "tornado sirens" and are taken rather seriously. If these sirens were not tied to this specific emergency situation, I believe their effectiveness would be diminished.

No one notification method works universally. Every form of public notification has its unique strengths and weaknesses. No single method will reach everyone. As such, emergency managers need to deploy multiple methods and systems for alerting the public. In San Francisco's case, they have mobile device alerting, they interact with the media, and the sirens are not simply tone-alerts, but also double as public address systems. Some are appropriate for almost daily use, others will be reserved only for the most dire circumstances. Good notification programs include a variety of methods to insure as wide a coverage as possible.


The article on San Francisco's sirens highlights a clear challenge of balancing investment versus preparation. What are your thoughts and experiences dealing with sirens and trade-offs between investments in the various alerting options? We'd love to hear from you.

Best regards,

Lorin


Galain Solutions, Inc. provides consulting services for public safety agencies selecting and implementing emergency notification systems. For more information, email: info@galainsolutions.com.

City to Use Emergency Notification System for Sexual Predator Alerts

The Florida city of Cape Coral (population 160,000 plus) has decided to stop sending out mailed sexual predator notifications. Instead, Cape Coral will be using their automated telephone notification system to notify residents when sexual predators move about in the area.

The City Council unanimously voted to take the step, saying they would save money and be able to get the notices out more quickly as sexual predators move from one place to the other. The News-Press article quoted interim Police Chief Jay Murphy as saying, "Offenders move and law-abiding people move into their former houses. The innocent residents sometimes are mistaken for an offender and may be harassed by their neighbors because of the long delay between mailings."

Cape Coral uses a hosted telephone notification system with large capacity, so shouldn't have problems getting emergency alerts outs when a sexual predator notification is issued. We suppose people could complain about using the emergency alert system for this purpose, but it seems that the more the system is used for important purposes such as this, the better off all will be.

All the best,

Rick

Questions about IPAWS

In a recent webinar, the chief engineer for FEMA's Integrated Public Alerts and Warnings System (IPAWS) took questions from emergency management practitioners about the IPAWS program. The questions asked Mark Lucero were interesting. But, what was perhaps more interesting were the questions Lucero asked the practitioners. Some examples:

- Should warning authority be limited by geography? (Most of the webinar participants said "yes".)

- Should warning authority be limited by severity? (Most said "no".)

- Should warning authority be limited by method of dissemination? Examples given were Emergency Alert System, National Weather Service, and Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS). (Most said "no limits.)

- Should the message originator have the option of choosing the method of dissemination? (Most said "yes".)

- Should university officials have direct access to IPAWS? (This one was pretty evenly split between yeses and nos.)

- Should regional, multi-agency coordination agencies have direct access to IPAWS? (Most said "yes".)

- Should a state agency be required to submit state or local emergency alert plan as a condition of IPAWS participation? (Most said "yes".)

- Should agencies be required to submit an IPAWS Implementation Plan, Standard Operating Procedure, or Warning Annex? (Most said "yes".)

- Should third party systems be required to demonstrate Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) compliance? (Most said "yes".)

About fifty people voted during a webinar conducted by FEMA's Disaster Management Program. Lucero's presentation about IPAWS can be found here. A recording of the webinar can be found about half-way down the page of the Disaster Management Special Interest web page. The recording includes presentation slides and the on-line poll (including results).

The poll may not have included a large group, but it showed the types of questions IPAWS is asking as the national alerting program FEMA is modernizing and expanding matures. These questions emergency management practitioners and alert and warning industry should be pondering.

All the best,

Rick

IPAWS Standards of Practice

Public safety professionals interested in learning more about how the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) program will work may want to tune in to a webinar this week. FEMA engineer Mark Lucero will talk about issues related to developing the IPAWS Standards of Practice for message originators. Message orginators? That's you, public safety official.

When IPAWS matures, local public safety officials should be able to access IPAWS and originate messages through a number of methods and modes including commercial vendors, cellular broadcast, and the Emergency Alert System. Presumably, Mr. Lucero will talk about the latest efforts.

The webinar will be held Wednesday, August 4th. The best way to access it is to go to the FEMA Disaster Management web site and follow the link to sign-up for the Public Safety Officials practitioner email list. And, if you miss it, the Disaster Management web site usually archives their webinars.

We hope Mr. Lucero will also discuss how local officials can provide input into how message origination will work.

All the best,

Rick

Congressional Hearing Hears Warning Concerns

A senior National Weather Service official last week told a Congressional sub-committee that "dramatic improvement" is needed in the way flood information is communicated. Gary Carter, Director of Hydrologic Development of the National Weather Service said, "This really needs to be moved to a whole new level...where when we update a precipitation forecast, every one of our partners and the public see it instantly."

Carter was called before Congress to testify about the recent Nashville-area floods and concerns that flood warnings were issued too late, and not communicated well. Among others testifying to the Appropriations Sub-Committee of Energy and Water Development was the head of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce who said hundreds of millions of dollars of damage could have been avoided, had warnings been issued and communicated sooner.

Nashville area Congressman Jim Cooper was sharply critical of The Army Corps of Engineers. He told the hearing that the Corps after-action report was “putting a cheerful face on some really ugly facts. The Corps admits to no less than 27 categories of problems with their performance during the 2010 flood, so it’s hard to see how the Corps can give itself any kind of passing grade.”

Whit Adamson, President of the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters, asked for Congressional support for funding for modernization of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in Tennessee. He said the upgrades required by the FCC and FEMA are "very expensive". Broadcasters, he said, need help with equipment purchases and funding for EAS training. In his written testimony, he pitched a statewide notification program that would span beyond EAS into telephone, text, and other alerting means. (Full disclosure: Galain is one of the co-authors of the plan.)

As we posted earlier, we saw the floods up close since we live in the Nashville area. We know first-hand how earlier and more effective warnings would have helped. It's pretty clear in this situation that there was a break-down in communications between the feds as the flood waters approached. The after-action report makes that clear. Local officials and FEMA have received high marks for their response. The community rallied. However, there are holes in the state's alert and warning system that need to be plugged.

All the best,

Rick

Emergency Notification AFTER the Emergency

A short, but insightful online comment by a New England resident serves as a good reminder for emergency managers to use ENS both during and after a crisis.

Two weeks ago, a county's water department issued a boil water notice due to elevated levels of e-coli discovered in one of the ground water sources. A boil water notice was issued and a public alert was launched through the county's emergency notification system.

After several days, water samples revealed no presence of e-coli and the boil water notice was rescinded. However, it appears the county did not launch an automated callout to notify citizens the event was over (at least according to one citizen's comments). While the county certainly did nothing wrong in general, the story highlights a best practice in alerting: post-event notifications.

As a critical event emerges and people face imminent danger, launching a notification is an obvious decision. However, as the danger passes and other emergency management duties take over, the urgency of sending alerts after the event may mistakenly diminish.

While there are plenty of other valid channels for issuing post-event information (press releases, media, web page, etc.), we believe the means used for informing the public initially creates expectations for how emergency managers will communicate throughout a given situation. Thus, residents who receive an automated telephone call warning them of potential danger also expect to receive through the system periodic updates and an "all clear" signal when it's over.

ENS is really about communicating and not just warning. Keep this in mind, and your citizens will thank you from beginning to end.

Best regards,

Lorin


Galain Solutions, Inc. provides consulting services for public safety agencies selecting and implementing emergency notification systems. For more information, email: info@galainsolutions.com.

The Death of Telephone Notifications?

Recently, Rick and I had a conversation with an emergency manager who, though not responsible for public alerting, had some strong opinions about it. Primarily, he believed the days of telephone call notifications were gone--that SMS or email was the only real viable means of alerting people in a crisis at this point. His main concerned stemmed from capacity--the ability to make a large number of calls quickly. Further, he had been burned by vendors who overstated their actual call handling capabilities (and the capacity of local phone switches) causing him to conclude this method was fundamentally flawed.

While we understand his overall frustrations and greatly respect his perspective, we do not believe telephone notifications have gone the way of the dinosaur. Here are a few reasons why we believe new methods and technologies are not yet ready to place the telephone call:

Large segments of the population still do not use SMS or email.
The market penetration of SMS and email is high and continues to grow. However, large groups of people still do not rely on these technologies with regularity. Managing a notification program with no method for reaching land line telephones will bypass a significant portion of local citizens.

Geographic targeting is often desired.
Most critical situations have a geographic element to them, and generally, emergency managers need to deliver specific alerts to targeted areas. As email and SMS data are not tied to geography, targeting alerts is impossible (unless a citizen has signed up for the alert and/or downloaded a mobile application). The exception is cellular broadcast technology which will help mitigate this problem but is not currently available on a widespread basis in the U.S. (more on this in the future).

SMS and email have capacity issues as well.
Though vendor and local telephone switch capacities should be a concern, we should not lull ourselves into thinking network limitations do not exist for digital messages (or cellular messages for that matter). Research conducted by Dr. Patrick Traynor at the Georgia Institute of Technology a couple of years ago illustrates this well, as do our own conversations with cellular carriers who have expressed deep concerns about SMS/email capacity limitations.

The human voice element can be important.
In research conducted by behavioral scientists, voice alerts have been shown to produce greater compliance than textual alerts alone (actually the greatest compliance comes from presenting both textual and voice alerts). This potentially illustrates the benefit of receiving information in an audible form from a human voice (or at least one that sounds human in the case of text-to-speech).

In all, we believe there is no one right answer for alerting the public. A successful notification program must encompass a variety of methods and devices to ensure alerts get through. Further, the impact of any method on the local communications infrastructure should be considered before a widespread notification is issued.

What do you think? Can we forget about telephone notifications and move to other technologies altogether? We'd love to hear from you. Oh, and you can use the telephone to call us if you'd like. We'll still answer it.

Best regards,

Lorin

Community Fuming Over Late-Night Missing Child Notification

A 14-year autistic boy was missing in Middletown, Connecticut a few days ago. At about 11:30 p.m. that night, police used its automated calling system to call the town's residents to seek info about the boy's whereabouts. The next day, Acting Deputy Police Chief Gregory Sneed said he got about 40 calls with people complaining about being awoken late at night. Of course, Chief Sneed is standing behind his decision to make the calls.

It's certainly not the first time people have complained about receiving such calls. But, here's what's interesting to me. When the article about the complaining was published in The Middletown Press newspaper, the paper's on-line comment forum lit up like a light. When I last checked it, there were well more than 40 people blasting the complainers!

Now, I wouldn't say this is a scientific study...but, I have a high level of confidence in stating that if the people of Middletown were polled, the vote would be overwhelmingly in favor of the calls being made.

By the way, the boy was found safely shortly after the calls went out.

Way to go Chief Sneed!

All the best,

Rick

Flood Warning Hearing This Week

As an aftermath of the nasty floods in Nashville, authorities are asking questions about how well warning systems work. Some residents and businesses are saying, had they known earlier how severe the situation was going to be, they could have done more to contain the damage.

Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) is among those asking questions. He has announced hearings for July 22 in DC before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. Among the things Senator Alexander says he wants to find out is whether new technology is required or could existing technology be used better.

In addition to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Weather Service, and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters (TAB)will be represented. The TAB will likely talk about the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and how it could be improved. EAS is slated for digitization in Tennessee and around the country, which means broadcasters and alert activators will need new equipment. The State of New Jersey recently announced it would help broadcasters there buy the equipment. Generally speaking, broadcasters have been asking for help...at least more time. (See our blog on the topic.)

Senator Alexander is comparing flood warnings to tornado warnings. He says the alliance between broadcasters and the National Weather Service is designed to provide warnings of tornadoes within fifteen minutes of arriving. He says, "I suspect we can do a lot better in transmitting reliable, speeding information about floods." He says flooding is more of a problem than tornadoes, saying "three out of four federally-declared disasters during the last five years have involved flooding."

Senator Alexander intends to stream the 9: 30 am July 22nd hearing on his web site.

All the best,

Rick

Nixle's "Elevator Pitch"

We wrote not long ago a post about Nixle, the notification tool that public safety agencies use at no charge to push out text notifications. In our post, we pondered how they make money.

Well, flipping through Inc. magazine this month, we find an article that sheds some light. Nixle is not making money. In fact, the article says Nixle generated no revenue last year, and is trying to raise 7.5-million-dollars from investors. In the "elevator pitch" in Inc., Nixle says that, along with offering the free service to law enforcement and other public safety, it intends to use its "secure text messaging platform" to charge businesses a fee to send messages to their customers.

Several investment experts weighed in. Mostly they said Nixle needs to show how they're going to get lots of small businesses to pay for the service in large enough mass to make money.

Meantime, the Nixle public safety customer base grows. According to Inc., there are now nearly 4,000 agencies using Nixle including Los Angeles and Chicago police departments.

Whether Nixle can make money and survive remains to be seen, but having 4,000 agencies using Nixle is no small feat. It's difficult to get agencies to adopt a program, even when it's free.

All the best,

Rick

Is IPAWS an International Program

Is IPAWS an international program? Well, Grandpa Ham thinks so. Grandpa Ham is Gary Ham, although he seems to like to call himself Grandpa. (I guess I'll feel the same when my kids start re-producing. Hint. Hint.). Gary has been a vocal voice for Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), the open standard for notifications to be used for, among other things, the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). IPAWS is a federal program in the United States. Gary, though, thinks the program can be used internationally, as he told a multi-national conference in Canada recently.

In his presentation to the World Conference on Disaster Management in Toronto, Gary said that testing and planning has been done with IPAWS concepts involving both Canadian and U.S. organizations. Makes sense. Because of the nature of the program, there's no need for IPAWS to be a U.S. only program.

Grandpa Ham says the key is there's an "open playing field" for developers of commercial software who have alerting authority customers to build applications to fit into the IPAWS framework. He said IPAWS provides authentication and other facets, but doesn't try to control the user interface. He said as long as standards are met, any type of software might be connected to IPAWS.

You can download Gary's presentation to the conference at his web site at http://grandpaham.com/



All the best,

Rick

New Jersey State Police Will Procure New Statewide EAS

According to the New Jersey Broadcasters Association (NJBA), the New Jersey State Police has agreed to proceed with the procurement of technology for replacing the aging emergency alert system across the state. Old analog hardware will be replaced with new, redundant digital equipment.

As discussed in our previous post, this move comes ahead of an upcoming nationwide push by the FCC and FEMA to replace antiquated EAS hardware currently managed by radio and television broadcast stations with fully digital equipment.

EAS is first and foremost a method for issuing Presidential alerts in the event of a national emergency. However, these systems can also be accessed by Governors or authorized local public safety agencies in the event of eminent threats or AMBER alerts.

Though the mandate for making the switch has yet to be issued, broadcasters across the country have expressed concern with the cost implications and proposed timetables (the broadcasters will be required to bear the cost as a requirement for maintaining an FCC license unless other funding sources arise). It appears as if New Jersey has taken the lead in figuring out how to get funding to support the stations' efforts.

NJBA President Paul Rotella said, “We are particularly gratified by the very earnest work of our dedicated law enforcement community, including our State Police, Office of Emergency Management and the Governor’s office and legislature in recognizing this urgent public safety need in our state”.

All the best,

Lorin

Another State Moves Closer to Statewide Notifications

The Governor of New Hampshire has signed a law that will create a statewide notification program. The Governor's press release predicts the system will be functioning by the end of the year.

We applaud the effort, but as previously posted, we're wondering if the program is broad enough. It only covers telephone notification. We think reaching people by telephone is a good way to notify, but only one of the good ways to notify. Multiple modes work best. With only $600,000 authorized for the statewide program, perhaps telephone is all they can afford.

A couple of other things strike us:

What's the community outreach program going to look like? It becomes more clear every day that a strong outreach program is esstential for a successful alerting and warning program, particularly since success nowadays depends upon citizens indicating which communication mode they want to use.

And, we wonder if New Hampshire has plans to develop the system so that it ties into the national notification framework FEMA is developing (IPAWS: Integrated Public Alert and Warning System).

Don't get us wrong. We like what New Hampshire is doing. In fact, we'd like to see more names among the small number of states who've either implemented or actively working toward statewide notification initiatives. We just hope they'll work hard to address the issues that have evolved since the state first start working on this initiative several years ago.

All the best,


Rick

Radio and Notifications

As people argue over the best means for receiving notifications, radio is picking up a head of steam in a number of formats. We're not talking about radio formats in the sense of Country, Pop, News/Talk, or Acid Rock/Gospel. We're talking about different means of using radio signals for issuing alerts.

Broadcast radio, the kind with the cool different formats, will soon undergo a change in the emergency notifications field when the Emergency Alert System (EAS) is modernized. Radio stations will install new digital receivers that are compliant with the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP). This should make broadcast radio more interactive with other types of notification modes.

Meantime, there's weather radio - devices that broadcast weather info from the National Weather Service. Weather radio got a nice plug recently in an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper. Local emergency management director Bill Turner of Campbell County was quoted as saying, "A tone-alert weather radio is one of the fastest and reliable means of obtaining weather information." He was responding to a bit of a controversy in the area about use of sirens - some people complaining they can't hear them when they're in their homes. Turner says sirens are intended to alert people who are outside; the fact that sometimes people in their homes can hear them is a bonus.

There's a third type of radio picking up speed. These are systems that use radio frequencies to delivery emergency notifications to special receivers. As of July 4th, residents within the Montecito Fire District in Santa Barbara County (CA) can purchase $90 radio devices to receive a variety of types of emergency notifications, mostly fires. The District is reacting to the Montecito Tea Fire wildfires which destroyed 210 homes in 2008. The District looked at several means of notifications like sirens and telephone, and decided the special radio receivers were the best way to go.

All the best,


Rick

Texas Builds Database for Emergency Notifications for Deaf and Blind

The State of Texas is encouraging deaf, hard-of-hearing, and sight impaired to sign up to receive emergency alerts. The notifications can use a number of languages, including American Sign Language and Braille. Devices that can be tapped include email, text-enabled cell phones, and devices that have been Braille-enabled.

The program is called The Accessible Hazard Alert System, offered by the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS). With hurricane season beginning, DARS is trying to get the word out about the service. People with disabilities can sign up through a service called DeafLink. They can also sign up in advance to receive transportation assistance should a hurricane threaten.

All the best,

Rick

Emergency Notification Program For Pets

Yes, you read that right. There's a new emergency notification service for pets. Well, it's not for notifying pets, but for notifications regarding pets when an emergency occurs.

The company Pets Guardian launched the service. Here's how it works. If, say, emergency medical technicians respond to a call and residents are taken away, the EMTs will have a number to call to activate the notification system. It will then call friends or family pre-designated by the pet owners, instructing them to come get the pets. Signs would be posted around the house, providing the number and instruction to responders.

Or, if a subscriber wants, it can receive a daily check-in from Pets Guardian to confirm that the pet is OK.

The founders say they created the system when one of their buddies didn't respond as requested to a call to take care of a pet. Their backup plan back-fired, they say.

Well, what will they think of next?

All the best,

Rick

UASI Conference Reviewed

Lorin and I recently spent several days at the conference of the Urban Area Securities Initiative (UASI), the consortiums of public safety officials in large metropolitan areas. We had a chance to talk to quite a few emergency managers about quite a few things. Invariably, the conversations would turn to notifications, alerts, and warnings. Here's a bit of what we were hearing:

- The challenge of getting telephone numbers for residents continues to hamper phone alerting efforts. News about the upcoming Commercial Mobile Alert System (C-MAS) was welcomed (particularly when they heard the price). (See our post on CMAS here.)

- Text messages sent in volume don't seem to be getting to their intended recipients fast enough. The emergency managers who mentioned this topic seemed to welcome knowing of the distinction between most text delivery messages systems and ones that have special relationships with carriers for priority messaging.

- Digitization of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) seemed welcomed, but many weren't aware of the timetable for implementation. Per our post here, the clock starts ticking soon for broadcasters to upgrade their EAS equipment.

- Consolidation of data was mentioned often, as it related to alerts and notifications and otherwise. Over the years, UASIs and their members have purchased a lot of systems, including notification systems. The systems don't always work together, and the UASIs are looking for solutions. (We heard this a lot, a good thing since we were there on behalf of a systems integrator client.)

- Most we spoke with were generally aware of the federal Integrated Public Alert Warning System (IPAWS). (At least they knew what it was when reminded what the IPAWS initials stand for.) However, most we spoke with on this topic didn't have a good handle on what it means to them.

Of course, these comments came in random conversations…not a real study.

The UASI conference was a particularly strong one, not only for UASI conferences, but compared to the many other conferences we've attended. Program content was excellent. Logistics and accommodations worked well. It was good to be back in New Orleans. The food was superb. So were the people.

We had a chance to visit with our fellow Emergency Management magazine blogger Eric Holdeman, who I noticed scooped us on the UASI report. If you don't follow Eric's blog, Disaster Zone, you should. He posts often, and always has good content. A nice visit, too, with Marty Pastula, the vice president over Emergency Management magazine. He and his crew continue to do an excellent job, recognized by, not only people in the emergency management field, but his publishing peers. Marty is a true pro, and a wonderful person. We're proud to be associated with him.

All the best,

Rick

Shoulds Alerts and Warnings Vendors be Threatened by IPAWS

With FEMA under Presidential Executive Order to develop an "effective, reliable, integrated, flexible, and comprehensive system to alert and warn the American people", private companies active in the space must be asking, "Hey, will that put me out of business?" Others are asking, "Hmm, I wonder if I can sell FEMA something?" These are a pretty good questions considering the Executive Order takes FEMA beyond its historical responsibility of Presidential alerting only.

Well, the answer to both questions is probably "No".

Although FEMA intends to help stand up a modernized, comprehensive national alerting system through their IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning System) program, they're really planning to build a framework for others to hook in to...which can include private companies. The head of FEMA's National Continuity Programs Directorate, Damon Penn, likens IPAWS to the iPhone. Vendors will be able to build IPAWS apps, just like vendors build iPhone apps.

Of course, there will be rules to follow, just as there are rules for developing iPhone apps. In the IPAWS case, many of those rules have yet to be developed. The most mature rules are the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) and technical specifications for the Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS). The latest version of CAP is expected to be approved by FEMA in the coming months. Once that happens, participants in the Emergency Alert System (EAS), mostly broadcasters, will need to update their equipment so it will work through IPAWS. Meantime, cable carriers are using the approved technical specifications to equip mobile devices to handle cell broadcast alerts through IPAWS.

Vendors who supply other types of alerts and warnings (land line telephone, sirens, texting, email, radio, network, etc) can follow the same path. Same is true of vendors involved with emerging means of alerting and warning (i.e. social media). They can also "build apps" for hooking into IPAWS.

So, no, IPAWS shouldn't put alert and warning vendors out of business. In fact, IPAWS could represent a market opportunity for vendors to shine and deliver value to customers. They'll need to pay attention, get engaged in the process, and follow the rules.

All the best,

Rick

Way to go Comcast!

No, we're not being facetious. Hats off to Comcast for comments about an alert recently made in Utah. Witnesses reported they saw two men pick up an eight-year-old girl in West Valley City near Salt Lake City. Others corrobulated the reports. An Amber Alert was issued.

As it turns out, it was a false alarm. So, some residents were aggitated, particularly those who were watching the NBA Finals on Comcast. The game broadcast had been interupted several times, including during the crucial final minutes.

About the complaints Comcast said, in effect, "tough!" (my word, not theirs). KSL-TV quoted Comcast spokesman Ray Child as saying, "[We] completely understand that it's an inconvenience to our customers. A child's safety is potentially at risk; it's worth the inconvenience". Way to go, Ray!

Of course, local police were criticized, too. But, they said they followed procedure for authorizing an Amber Alert - one of the criteria being reports that a child had been abducted.

There are always people who're going to complain about alert interruptions (although surely they're in the minority). Good for Comcast and local police for publically sticking up for something that could have been important to an eight-year-old's safety.

All the best,

Rick

Emergency Alerting Problem in Bay Area

A plume of smoke released by a refinery near San Francisco caused a bit of stir recently, not because of danger, but because it pointed out a failing of the local emergency notification system.

According to the Mercury News, the plume release was intentional and not dangerous. Not aware, the local fire chief activated local emergency alerting procedures. The mis-alert was caught within an hour, and an all-clear was issued. Not a big deal, you may think.

Here's the problem: one of the key components of the alerting system in Benicia, CA didn't work. The local public information radio station should have broadcast the alert, but it didn't. The Mercury News said that confused local residents. They heard sirens, but didn't know what they were about. When they tuned to 1610AM, as they normally would, they got no infomation.

Since there was really no threat, this represents a good opportunity for the community to take a look at their alerting programs, which we're sure they're doing. While they're figuring out what to do locally, we can take a few lessons:

- Residents will want to confirm why they're hearing sirens blaring.
- No single means of communications covers all.
- Test, test, test.
- When something goes wrong, it very likely will be in the news.

All the best, and good luck Benicia.

Rick

Sirens Win Weather Channel Poll

OK, it's not scientific and the sampling size is small, but it's interesting that sirens won the vote when the Weather Channel's question of the day recently asked, "If there was a tornado warning in your area, would you rather have a siren or telephone call alert you of the danger?" 22 respondents voted for sirens and six voted for telephone calls.

What's perhaps even more interesting is the "write-in" vote. Although the Weather Channel didn't make this a vote option, 17 people sounded off that they wanted both a siren and telephone call to alert them. You can find a link to the Weather Channel poll conducted through Facebook here.

One of the interesting things about the poll was the passion with which opinions were expressed. One respondent would adamantly state telephone call, and the next would state siren...both with good reason.

The bottom line is nothing new, different people prefer different alert methods. If you're going to alert people in a critical event, you must use multiple modes. If you don't believe it, just ask Weather Channel viewers.

All the best,

Rick

Emergency Alert System Checkpoint

There's a good bit swirling around these days on the Emergency Alert System (EAS). A recent workshop provided a nice forum for airing some of the issues and concerns.

Some of the most vocal concerns came from broadcasters attending the FEMA-FCC EAS workshop recently. The broadcasters generally accept the fact they need to replace their EAS equipment with digital equipment that facilitates the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), the single language for transmitting messages. However, they don't like the time pressure. When the latest version of CAP is approved and authorized in the next couple of months or so, they'll have 180-days to replace their equipment.

Kelly Williams of the National Association of Broadcasters told workshop participants that 180 days is not enough time for 30,000 EAS participants to get equipment in place, particularly when there are only eight manufacturers. And, these manufacturers can't start selling until they are certified for CAP compliance by a FEMA laboratory. The laboratory says it's ready to start certifying, just waiting for the green light. Broadcasters say, still, not enough time.

A couple of people at the workshop also said the short window is going to make it tough to train people, both broadcasters and message originators, on how to use the new technology.

Good questions came from Henry Black of the Maryland Emergency Management Agency. He was most concerned about the practical and operational aspects, like training, messaging, and the ever-important question about authority to activate. Who's going to have it? This will be even more important when the IPAWS program launches add-ons to EAS such a cellular broadcast alerting. (Yes, it's coming.)

Meantime, work is underway for a national exercise of the EAS system, something that's never been done before. FEMA and the FCC are shooting for some time in the first half of 2011 for the test. Antwane Johnson, Director of the IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning System) program for FEMA, told the workshop that outreach will be a big part of the test effort. Not only will operators need to know what to do, the public will need to know what not to do. Imagine the panic that could develop when an EAS message, much stronger than the monthly tests people are accustomed to (and probably immune to), is issued across the country. Local public safety officials will need to pitch in to make sure their communities know about the test.

Look for a good bit of dialogue in the coming months on Henry's questions and the nationwide EAS exercise. IPAWS can be an important element of public safety, and if you get a chance, make your opinions known about how it should work.

All the best,


Rick

Should ENS be Used Only in Emergencies?

Should "emergency" notification systems be used only in actual emergencies?

It appears there are differing opinions on this issue among ENS managers across the country. In a recent nationwide study we conducted of more than 400 notification system decision-makers, 58% said they use their systems for "emergency situations only" while 42% said they use it for "emergency, urgent, and non-emergency situations equally." Clearly, two camps exist with regards to appropriate ENS usage.

For those in the "emergency only" camp, there is often a fear by managers that frequent use will desensitize citizens to alerts. If the public receives regular, routine messages through the notification system, according to the theory, people may ignore alerts when a real crisis exists. Also, the E911 data used to populate these systems may not legally be applicable for non-emergency situations--another possible factor.

For those in the "emergency and non-emergency" camp, there is a belief that more liberal use provides citizens with greater familiarity and deeper comfort in interacting with the system. It also serves as a highly visible connection point between citizens and first responder agencies, creating a sense of community involvement and trust.

I suppose we lean toward the latter camp. In all our years of involvement in ENS, the most memorable and innovative notification programs tended toward a greater frequency of use. In these agencies, systems and procedures are exercised regularly and users are often better trained. This leads to greater confidence and fewer mistakes. Further, citizens appreciate the system, feeling local public safety agencies are proactive and "on the ball."

There is one caveat here, however. As a citizen, I don't mind receiving frequent communications as long as the information is highly relevant to me. Flooding me with frivolous or poorly targeted information will annoy and frustrate me (I don't really want to hear about the citizen watch meeting being held in a community on the other side of the county). So, even though we support using ENS for non-emergency purposes, we recommend these alerts be well targeted and highly relevant.

What do you think? We'd love to hear from you on this topic no matter your philosophical leanings.

All the best,

Lorin


For a copy of a white paper highlighting results from this study funded by Blackboard Connect, click here.

Out of the Box Emergency Notification

With expectations rising over how alerting and warning systems perform, need also rises to think "out of the box". Consider "the box" a notification product, a solution that performs alerts, warnings, and notifications through one or more communications modes - say telephones, texting, sirens, broadcast, social media, internal networks, digital signage, or whatever. These products normally do a fine job of their intended purpose. However, that's often not enough these days to make sure the right people get the right information at the right time.

What if you think out of the box and link these systems to other systems? No genius required to figure out how these products would work better if they are connected to other products, say, an incident management tool. If you've operated an alerting product, particularly while a critical event was unfolding, you've likely thought, "Wouldn't it be nice if...?" While it's pretty easy to see how these links would make a big difference, there are challenges to making the connections really happen.

Enter the systems integrator. This is a company that knows how to take disparate systems and make them work together. There are special skills involved, and particular processes to follow. The process begins by developing a real understanding of the problems to be solved. Then, technical expertise comes into play for design. Design includes a number of elements including architecture, functionality, speed, usability, data management, and evolving technology. Then, the systems integrator starts building the box outside the box.

Beyond the technical challenge, there's the ever-present cost challenge. The cost of systems integration can range from being ridiculously inexpensive for value returned to being ridiculously expensive. Among contributing factors is whether the product ("the box") was built to accommodate links. Before buying, it's a good idea to ask a vendor if their product has an API. That's an "application program interface", a fancy name for saying the vendor has made the keys available to gettting data into and out of their product. A good systems integrator can work around a product that has no API, but having one helps.

The key is to think out of the box. Don't think it can't be done because it hasn't been done...even if the vendor who sold it to you doesn't know how to do it. Making and selling products is one discipline. Integrating products is another. We've not seen a lot of examples of companies doing both well.

So, don't complain about the limitations and think, "Wouldn't it be nice...?". Get someone who can help you. Find out what the real cost and return will be. Qualified systems integrators are out there, and if you can't find them, we know some good ones.

You may be surprised at how easy it is to make a strong business case and receive funding for a systems integration project.

All the best,


Rick

(You can request a copy of our guidance for writing good business cases at info@galainsolutions.com.)