Congress gives radio and wireless industries a nudge toward a FM-cell phone compromise. A microchip and a U.S. House committee chairman are proving to be the needed catalysts to jumpstart efforts to get FM receivers installed and activated in mobile phones. A Capitol Hill roundtable put the radio and wireless industries at the same table, and while there’s no appetite in Congress to force a mandate, their attention may be enough to nudge the two industries closer together. “This is the start of serious dialogue,” predicts Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan, who’s been among those leading the industry’s effort with cell phone companies. The Tuesday summit was called by Homeland Security Committee chairman Rep. Gus Bilirakis. He says he received “valuable insight” from broadcasters and the phone companies but signals he still thinks it’s better for the two industries to work out a solution. “The best ideas and innovation come from the private sector, not the federal government,” Bilirakis says. Smulyan says the industry doesn’t want a government mandate, but hopes instead to find a business solution that will work for radio stations and mobile companies. The development of a new HD chipset may be the sweetener cell phone providers have been waiting for. “With the new HD chip, we have a business application that I think will get them interested,” Smulyan says. “Our job is to continue pushing this and now that the chip is ready, we can push and also provide a business solution.” Besides beaming digital radio signals, the chipset opens up new content options for listeners and marketing opportunities for advertisers. For example, an action button that places a call to a local merchant, downloads a coupon to the device, or places an appointment into its calendar. Full screen ads and mapping integration are also included. And music sales from song-tagging could also be routed to a carrier’s online music store. “There are business opportunities here and now it’s a question of how we put them together,” Smulyan says.

Excerpt from Inside Radio- April 26, 2012

Inside Radio- FM chips.pdf (2.07 mb)

taken from The News Star - April 14, 2012- http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012204150313

Storms raise alarms
 
Written by
Greg Hilburn

When the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Sterlington and Ouachita Parish before dawn on April 5, few people were aware of the danger as they slept.

"We know stuff is happening, and there are storms out there with rotation, but we just haven't had any ground reports yet because it's still dark and people are still asleep," Aaron Stevens of the National Weather Service's Shreveport office told The News-Star early that morning during the storm. "That's when there's the most danger because people are unaware and unprotected."

Luckily, no tornado touched down in Sterlington that morning, but the increased threat of tornadic activity and severe storms during the past three years caused by La Nina created heightened anxiety.

The best way to protect yourself if you're in the path of the storm is to seek the sturdiest shelter, like a bathtub in an interior room, but you have to know the tornado is coming.

Last summer, Ouachita Parish officials began exploring the possibility of installing a parishwide siren system that would belt out an unmistakable warning, but Homeland Security Director Tracy Hilburn said those plans have been shelved because they are cost prohibitive.

"It would cost millions of dollars, and the funding we had hoped to secure from a federal hazard mitigation grant is no longer available for pre-mitigation," Hilburn said.

But Don Wheeler, an assistant professor of science at Louisiana Delta Community College and a veteran storm chaser, said the siren system would be considered a bargain if a tornado touches down.

"They're expensive, but how do you put a value on human life," Wheeler said. "There's definitely a great need because people turn off their TVs and radios at night. We need them badly. There's no mistaking the sound of that siren. You'll never forget it if you've ever heard one.

"There is one (siren) unit at (the University of Louisiana at Monroe), but it only covers the campus. I'm looking into the possibility of getting one for our (Delta) campus. Sooner or later we're going to get a direct hit, and then we'll be wondering why we didn't pursue a siren system. The odds are against us."

But Hilburn said the sirens aren't mean to be heard indoors, "so if it happens at night and people are asleep, it wouldn't help."

He said Ouachita Parish, through the state of Louisiana, will have another warning system in place by the end of the summer.

The Alert FM system, which will be delivered through $35 to $40 radios on an FM frequency, "will definitely wake you up".

"It gives you the ability to get custom messages to specific ZIP codes and is tied to the National Weather Service and Homeland Security," Hilburn said. "It does more than a weather radio because it can direct messages to specific areas in the path of the storm."

Hilburn said he'll be working with the school systems to provide larger FM Alert radios for them and hopes nonprofit groups will raise money to provide the FM Alert radios to people who can't afford them.

"It's the best option we have for now," said Hilburn, who begins training on the system in May and hopes the radios are available to the public by June.

For those without access to computers, radios or TVs, which can be useless if the electricity fails during a storm, people can call the United Way of Northeastern Louisiana's 211 on their cell or land lines for updated warnings.

"We'll absolutely have the most updated information on a 24-hour availability," said Janet Durden of the United Way. "It's completely in sync with the National Weather Service and Homeland Security."

Wheeler said in the absence of dedicated warning systems, people should be proactive when they know there is a threat of severe weather.

"If you know it's a possibility, be alert and get as much information as possible from any source you can access," he said. "That awareness could save your life."
But Hilburn said the sirens aren't mean to be heard indoors, "so if it happens at night and people are asleep, it wouldn't help."

Ouachita Parish news story.pdf (778.87 kb)

PRESS ALERT

Demonstrations of the GSS CAP-EAS Solutions for Radio at NAB Show, Las Vegas Convention Center in the Radio-Ready Cell Phone Booth N3238 and FEMA Booth C746   

The Radio-Ready Cell Phone Showcase, N3238, and FEMA, C746Featuring radio’s emergency alerting capabilities, including a demonstration of ALERT FM texting, part of the GSS end-to-end CAP origination, transport, and broadcast dissemination system.  To schedule a personal demonstration of ALERT FM and learn more about the GSS CAP-EAS System, please contact Matthew Straeb, 954-850-6606,mstraeb@gssnet.us.  

Plus… Experts Take a Comprehensive Look at CAP-EAS Regulatory Issues, Wednesday, April 18, Room S224

 ·         9:00AM-10:30AMEAS: The Nationwide Test Is Over… So What’s Next  Moderator:
Larry Walke, Associate General Counsel, NAB
Panelists:
Thomas Beers, Chief, Policy Division, PSHSB, FCC
Antwane Johnson, Division Director, IPAWS, FEMA National Continuity Programs
Mark Lucero, Chief, IPAWS Engineering, FEMA National Continuity Programs
Sharon Tinsley, President, Alabama Broadcasters Association 

• 10:00AM-10:30AM

• 10:30AM-11:15AM

NAB 2012 v 2 (2)-final.pdf (125.04 kb)

Las Vegas, NV, NAB Show -- April 11, 2012 – Working closely with state broadcaster associations, Global Security Systems (GSS) has finalized arrangements with Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma that officially designate GSSNet Alert Studio, along with the GSSNet satellite network, as statewide CAP-EAS aggregation tools for creating, retrieving, and distributing Emergency Alert System (EAS) messages to Local Primary 1 and 2 (LP1/LP2) FM radio stations.  In addition, Louisiana and Mississippi will utilize digital broadcast delivery of text messages to FM receivers with ALERT FM. 

Louise “Lou” Munson, President and Chief Executive Officer of LAB observed, “With statewide implementation of the CAP-EAS solution from GSS, Louisiana radio broadcasters meet the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirements, their public service responsibilities, plus they help save lives in their community.” 

“When disaster strikes, the integrated and highly reliable CAP-EAS solution from GSS provides fast and secure shared access that allows federal, state, and local agencies to communicate with Mississippi radio broadcasters in an effective and coordinated manner,” stated Jackie Lett, President, Mississippi Association of Broadcasters. 

GSSNet Alert Studio is compliant with the Common Alert Protocol (CAP) and can create and retrieve alerts in multiple formats -- WAV/MP3 files, live text-to-speech (including in Spanish), and live recorded messages . Recently, GSSNet Alert Studio passed Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) testing.   

Any CAP alert messages can be disseminated via GSSNet FM-based satellite system, on a national, regional, or hyper-local basis, to receivers of AM, FM, including HD radio signals.  GSSNet provides an added layer of reliability with IP distribution via the Internet.  GSSNet Alert Studio and the GSSNet FM-based network are officially selected for CAP-EAS origination, retrieval, and dissemination to broadcasters in Alabama, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.   

“We are honored that Louisiana and Mississippi have chosen the GSSNet Alert Studio including GSSNet Satellite for statewide CAP-EAS compliant alert message origination, retrieval, and dissemination,” noted Robert Adams, President and Chief Executive Officer, GSS.  “We are grateful to all of our state association partners,” he added.  “Working with state broadcast associations facilitates statewide implementation and deployment of the GSS end-to-end CAP origination, transport, and broadcast dissemination system, which helps  broadcasters save lives at even the most hyper-local level.”  

The GSSNet Alert Studio and GSSNet Satellite are both state of the art digital technology and provide end-to-end GSS CAP-EAS solution for broadcasters.  When combined with ALERT-FM digital broadcast delivery of text messages to radio receivers, GSSNet Alert Studio including GSSNet provides a dedicated Digital network that provides complete end-to-end CAP source, transport, and broadcast dissemination system to cable, television, and radio, including wireless devices such as mobile phones. 

“GSSNet and GSSNet Alert Studio provide our broadcast stations with the tools needed to broadcast CAP-based EAS messages which meets the new FCC standard. We worked with the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management to deploy these systems in our state,” said Vance Harrison, President, Oklahoma Broadcasters Association. “This new EAS system benefits our stations and the public by allowing our broadcasters to receive and distribute federal, state, and local messages including Presidential Alerts, Imminent Danger Alerts, Amber Alerts, weather warnings, and other emergency information.” 

Demonstrations of the GSS CAP-EAS Solution will be conducted at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, Monday, April 16 through Thursday, April 19, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in the FEMA Booth, C746 and the NAB Radio-Ready Cell Phone Booth, N3238. 

 About Global Security Systems:Global Security Systems (GSS) is a systems integrator, service provider and manufacturer of the ALERT FM, GSSNet Alert Studio and GSSNet satellite delivery system.  Global Security Systems has participated in the development of IPAWS based systems, is a member of the Commercial Mobile Alert Service systems committee, and is actively involved with several EAS and CAP committees.  The Global Security Systems nationwide GSSNet satellite delivery system for emergency alerts currently is in operation at over 300 locations in 16 states and growing daily, and includes the ability to generate and deliver CAP messages.

Media Contact:Renee Cassis646-808-6505Cassis2@msn.com

Louisiana PR v 14A-final.pdf (287.55 kb)

taken from http://www.dailygamecock.com/news/item/3475-carolina-alert-test-largely-successful-but-reveals-problems 

Carolina Alert test largely successful, but reveals problems

By Thad Moore & Cassie Cope, News Editors
news@dailygamecock.com

Faulty wire brings TV crawl system to a stop

Unlike most tests, however, this one was unplanned.

The system is tested twice a year — in the spring and fall, historically at a set time and date — but this week, all that USC police operators knew was to expect a call between Tuesday and Friday.

“In previous semesters, it’s been a planned test, so we have said, ‘Tuesday at 12:20, we will be activating these systems,’” said Cpl. Vinny Bocchino, of USC’s Emergency Management department. “[Having an unplanned test] is very appropriate because emergencies aren’t planned.”

At 3:17 p.m. Tuesday, Provost Michael Amiridis, who also serves as the chairman of the emergency management team, called Bocchino. By 3:18 and 15 seconds, ALERT FM boxes in residence halls, lobbies and elsewhere on campus were activated. A minute and a half later, a message was broadcast over outdoor warning sirens. Finally, about twenty seconds after that, it was sent out by text message, social media, RSS feed and the Carolina Alert website.

When the TV crawl system, which places a scrolling message at the bottom of every station on on-campus cable, was tested, though, nothing happened.

“We’ve kind of looked back today [Wednesday] and revisited what happened there, and it turns out it was a faulty wire,” Bocchino said. “They’ve fixed that, and we’ve actually implemented a routine to test the television message crawler once a week.”

The response time was faster than in the past, Bocchino said, because of upgrades to the system.

“About a year ago, we switched to a new text message and email system, which has greatly, greatly improved the time it takes to actually send the message out,” he said.

Bocchino said 97.5 percent of the 61,013 emails the system sent were successfully received; he said a big improvement in that department was that outdated mailbox.sc.edu addresses, were new email.sc.edu accounts.

Bocchino also said 40,193 cell phones received those text messages Tuesday, 98.4 percent of the 40,831 numbers students, faculty and staff listed on VIP.

“A lot of those [unsuccessful messages] were because people put landline numbers into a cell phone field,” Bocchino said. “Obviously, you can’t send a text message to a landline ... About 50 people put numbers that start with 777, so they put university numbers in that line.”

The text message system has come under criticism in the last few months, as it is reserved only for “situations that pose an immediate risk to safety,” according to the Carolina Alert website, and students won’t be notified if the university closes for severe weather.

If students want to be texted in those situations, Bocchino suggested that they have Carolina Alert’s Twitter messages sent to their cell phones instead.

“If you want [a text message in] some of these instances where life safety isn’t an issue but it still warrants a message — severe weather warning, school closings, crime alerts — it’s very easy to sign up for Twitter and push that to your cell phone so you can get a text message,” he said.

Print - Carolina Alert test largely successful, but reveals problems.pdf (653.10 kb)

Panel mulls alternatives to tornado sirens

http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20120127/NEWS01/201270309

The local Emergency Planning Committee met Thursday to discuss an alternative to the sirens that alert the community to the presence of tornadoes.

"We are looking into not just using sirens, because they're so restrictive," said Marty Clements, director of the Madison County Emergency Management Agency. "It costs a whole lot of money to keep them up and running. We're trying to find the best and most economical ways to take care of people."

The 47 sirens in the county are becoming dated and cost roughly $25,000 to replace. A representative from Alert FM spoke to the group about a system that could be more effective and potentially replace the sirens. Jim Lowery explained that relying on televisions or cell phones alone is not an efficient method of staying informed. Power outages happen, and
network issues can arise when numerous people try to make outgoing calls at the same time.

"We take the infrastructure that is already in place, that is the local public or commercial FM radio, and we use that to send out the notifications," Lowery said. "They can be weather warnings or anything the EMA group wishes to send out to a local  community."

Those messages are broadcast through portable, battery-powered receivers that can be purchased for about $39.99. The receiver is a warning device and does not provide a steady stream of information. Its purpose is to alert the user so that he or she can then utilize some other source for more details, including a television or smart phone.

Organizations represented at the committee meeting included Jackson Energy Authority, Jackson-Madison County Health Department, Jackson Police Department, Jackson Fire Department, Salvation Army Disaster Services, American Red Cross and several others.

It also was mentioned that February is Earthquake Awareness Month. For more information about participating in a drill scheduled for at 10:15 a.m. Feb. 7, visit  www.shakeout.org.

GSS and Trispec Collaborate to Bring ALERT FM to Canada
Alert and Emergency Notification to be key Market

St. Leonard, QUEBEC - November 1st, 2011 - Global Security Systems (GSS) and Trispec Communications announced today their collaboration in the alerting market with the introduction of ALERT FM, GSS’s comprehensive emergency notification system, into Canada. ALERT FM is already deployed extensively throughout the United States and more than 60 million people have access to the technology.

“Trispec is pleased to introduce the ALERT FM system into the Canadian market and plans to offer the same product, services, and support that has made the system as success in the United States,” Claude Mailhot, Trispec director of strategic vendor relations, said. “Trispec is committed to the development of the alert and messaging service business in Canada and will provide engineering design, integration and installation, and service to Canadian clients across the country.”

ALERT FM allows provincial and local officials to send digital information via the Radio Data System (“RDS”) - data subcarrier- of local FM radio stations, SMS (text) or email so that first responders, schools, businesses, or citizens can receive emergency information in mere seconds. This information can be received on fixed or mobile receivers, or on other consumer devices such PDAs, cell phones and other specialized receivers in the future. Types of notifications might include weather warnings, evacuation notices, Amber Alerts, plant or school closings, utility notices, or traffic alerts.

The reliability and redundancy of ALERT FM’s use of RDS lies in its use of pre-existing network of towers, which in turn provides overlapping coverage of an area. These overlapping towers provide rapid message transmission even when other communication transmissions are disrupted.

“GSS is very excited about working with Trispec to expand our ALERT FM system into Canada. We look forward to providing provincial and local officials with proven technology that has the potential to provide life-saving information to the citizens of Canada,” Robert L. Adams, president and CEO of Global Security Systems, said.

###

About GSS/ ALERT FM:
GSS is the systems integrator, service provider, and manufacturer of ALERT FM, an FM radio-based alert and messaging system that incorporates RDS technology to digital information using conventional FM radio infrastructure to a targeted audience. This information can be received specially designed ALERT FM receivers or any device equipped with a standard FM chip. ALERT FM has been implemented at the university, state, county and multi-county levels. More than 60 million people in 14 US States and 15 thousand people in Canada have access to ALERT FM technology.

Founded in 2002, GSS has its headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi (USA), with offices in Florida, Louisiana, Washington D.C., and Sweden. For more information visit www.alertfm.com or www.gssnet.us.

About Trispec:

Trispec engineering the how™ is an engineering and systems integration company that specializes in the design, supply and building of communications networks, Test and Measurement platforms, and alert-messaging systems. Trispec recently supplied and supported deployments of over-the-air CAP-CP EAS decoding systems for Emergency Management departments in Alberta and Nova Scotia.  Trispec has offices and warehouses in Montreal, Toronto and Calgary. Reach us at www.trispec.com

PRESS RELEASE

October 25, 2011

Contacts: St. Clair Township, ON          St. Clair County, MI
Steven Bicum, 519-481-0111                 Jeff Friedland, 810-989-6325
sbicum@twp.stclair.on.ca                      jfriedland@stclaircounty.org

Bluewater Community Alerting Network

Tuesday October 25, 2011 marks the launch of the Bluewater Community Alerting Network between the U.S. and Canadians.  A press conference will be held at 1:00 PM on the Blue Water Ferry in the St. Clair River between Sombra, ON and Marine City, MI.

Roy Dewhirst, Fire Chief of St. Clair Township, Ontario and Jeff Friedland, Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director of St. Clair County, Michigan announced the implementation of a cooperative cross-border project called the Bluewater Community Alerting Network.  The network will utilize Alert FM devices to deliver emergency notifications and alerts to the public and other recipients such as emergency responders, schools, public officials, and cross-border emergency managers. Emergency messages can be targeted toward organizational groups or geographical areas to deliver weather warnings, evacuation or shelter-in-place instructions, Amber Alerts, and homeland security notices.

“As St. Clair County [MI] contains several neighboring communities with St. Clair Township [ON], being divided only by the St. Clair River, what affects one community is likely to affect the other.  Collaboration on keeping our residents safe was a logical step,” commented Friedland.  In agreement, Dewhirst said, “If severe weather is impacting St. Clair County, we know it is headed our way.  I am very pleased about this partnership and the communication gaps the project will bridge between government officials and residents.”

Alert FM deployment was possible due to the cooperation of Wonderful News Radio (WNFA 88.3 & WNFR 90.7) and Radio First (WSAQ 107.1) on the American side of the river and Blackburn Radio (CHKS 106.3) on the Canadian side.  Emergency information is delivered to Alert FM devices through data subcarriers on the towers of the participating radio stations.

To receive potentially life-threatening information, residents and businesses will need to purchase an Alert FM receiver.  The receivers, which are portable and light, use a battery backup in case of power outages and send an audible alert as well as text to alert the residents.  Alert FM devices can be purchased at:

St. Clair Township, ON

St. Clair Township
Emergency Services Building
392 Lyndoch St
Corunna ON
(519) 481-0111

St. Clair Township
Civic Centre
1155 Emily St
Mooretown ON
(519) 867-2021

Corunna Home Hardware
372 Lyndoch
Corunna ON
(519) 862-5100

St. Clair County, MI

East China Township               Lakeport Market               Port Huron Township
5111 River Rd.                        7096 3rd St.                        Fire Department
East China                                Lakeport                           3848 Lapeer Rd.
(810) 765-8879                        (810) 385-3330                 Port Huron
       (810) 982-7129

Steve Arnold, Mayor of St. Clair Township, is very excited about this cross-border project. “The Bluewater Community Alerting Network will offer a notification system that will target the appropriate people with the right information to protect our families in the event of a pending natural disaster or an incident that could affect our communities. I would like to thank all of those on both sides of the St Clair River for their vision and cooperative nature to make this system a reality for the citizens in our communities.”

Jeff Bohm, Chairperson of the St. Clair County Board of Commissioners, said, “I am proud of the efforts put forth to establish cross-border collaboration and get the network up and running.  I hope this is one of many projects that can be implemented through partnerships with our Canadian neighbors.”

For more information on the Bluewater Community Alerting Network, contact Steven Bicum, Deputy Fire Chief, St. Clair Township, ON at 519-481-0111 or sbicum@twp.stclair.on.ca or Jeff Friedland, Director of the St. Clair County, MI Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management at 810-989-6325 or jfriedland@stclaircounty.org. 

Press Event Press Release.pdf (79.91 kb)

****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Media Coverage Links

The Obeserver (Sarnia)- "New emergency warning devices unveiled"

The Observer (Sarnia)- "New devices to warn St. Clair of chemical spills, tornadoes"

Lampton Shield- "Updated: St. Clair Township offers subsidized FM Alert system to residents......"

The Fox light hits 99.9 FM- "ALERT FM"

1380AM WPHM- "New Alert System Floated"

excerted from Rick Wimberly & Lorin Bristow's Alert & Notifications Blog (Emergency Management Magazine)- http://www.emergencymgmt.com/emergency-blogs/alerts/New-EAS-System-in-101311.html

New EAS system in Alabama speeds Alerts

In the over 40 years I've known lots of broadcast engineers, it's hard to remember times when they showed much enthusiasm and satisfaction over anything...especially the Emergency Alert System (EAS).  They are just not an outwardly enthusiastic group.  Well, I found one who's wearing his enthusiasm and satisfaction quite brightly.  He's Larry Wilkins, state EAS coordinator for Alabama.  Alabama has upgraded its statewide EAS system, which Wilkins says is unlike any other system in the country and he's clearly proud.

The new system does a number of things differently - all designed to make sure EAS alerts are heard and seen by the public faster and that they contain more information.  One of the things Wilkins is particularly proud of is the new system's use of the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP).  He says it provides important new capability for public safety officials to create messages that can contain much more information than the old way including pre-recorded audio messages (say, recorded by the governor or other officials), digital attachments (say, pictures of Amber Alert victims), and text-to-speech messages (without counting on dispatchers to be announcers).  Plus, he says, capability will be enhanced even more through the new system's ability to work with IPAWS, the federal alerting initiative.

Even with the new capabilities, Wilkins says public officials will have fewer activation steps through the system Alabama bought (called GSSNet Alert Studio).  He says the two tests conducted so far were "100% successful both times", and public safety officials were enthused about how simple it was.
Wilkins says they were able to build the system statewide for around $60,000 which was financed by the Alabama Broadcasters Association at no cost to local officials or radio and TV stations.  Wilkins says ABA felt strongly that they really needed to get the system running soon to have something more reliable than the old system. 

Wilkins says the old "daisy chain" system formerly used in Alabama and currently used in most other states is "not really reliable because of potential breaks in the system".  When it breaks at a single point, no one downstream gets the message.  Through the new system, says Wilkins, the messages are delivered "first hand" to broadcasters.

No doubt about it, Wilkins is enthused.  He said it was a "real treat to get it working".   I'm sure he wouldn't mind talking to public safety officials elsewhere outside Alabama who have questions.  And we sure wouldn't mind putting you in touch with him.
All the best,
 
Rick
 
www.galainsolutions.com

New EAS System in Alabama Speeds Alerts.pdf (651.57 kb)

PRESS RELEASE

October 20, 2011

 Contacts: St. Clair Township, ON                            St. Clair County, MI
Steven Bicum, 519-481-0111                     Jeff Friedland, 810-989-6325
sbicum@twp.stclair.on.ca                          jfriedland@stclaircounty.org

Bluewater Community Alerting Network

Roy Dewhirst, Fire Chief of St. Clair Township, Ontario and Jeff Friedland, Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director of St. Clair County, Michigan announced today the implementation of a cooperative cross-border project called the Bluewater Community Alerting Network.  The network will utilize Alert FM devices to deliver emergency notifications and alerts to the public and other recipients such as emergency responders, schools, public officials, and cross-border emergency managers. Emergency messages can be targeted toward organizational groups or geographical areas to deliver weather warnings, evacuation or shelter-in-place instructions, Amber Alerts, and homeland security notices.

“As St. Clair County [MI] contains several neighboring communities with St. Clair Township [ON], being divided only by the St. Clair River, what affects one community is likely to affect the other.  Collaboration on keeping our residents safe was a logical step,” commented Friedland.  In agreement, Dewhirst said, “If severe weather is impacting St. Clair County, we know it is headed our way.  I am very pleased about this partnership and the communication gaps the project will bridge between government officials and residents.”

Alert FM deployment was possible due to the cooperation of Wonderful News Radio (WNFA 88.3 & WNFR 90.7) and Radio First (WSAQ 107.1) on the American side of the river and Blackburn Radio (CHKS 106.3) on the Canadian side.  Emergency information is delivered to Alert FM devices through data subcarriers on the towers of the participating radio stations.

To receive potentially life-threatening information, residents and businesses will need to purchase an Alert FM receiver.  The receivers, which are portable and light, use a battery backup incase of power outages and send an audible alert as well as text to alert the residents.  Alert FM devices can be purchased at:

St. Clair Township, ON

St. Clair Township                       St. Clair Township          Corunna Home Hardware
Emergency Services Building        Civic Centre                   372 Lyndoch
392 Lyndoch St                           1155 Emity St                Corunna, ON
Corunna ON                                Mooretown, ON           (519)862-5100
(519) 481-0111                           (519) 867-2021

St. Clair County, MI

East China Township                    Lakeport Market                 Port Huron Township
5111 River Rd.                            7096 3rd St.                        Fire Department
East China                                    Lakeport                              3848 Lapeer Rd.
(810) 765-8879                           (810) 385-3330                   Port Huron 
                                                                                                (810) 982-7129

Steve Arnold, Mayor of St. Clair Township, is very excited about this cross-border project. “The Bluewater Community Alerting Network will offer a notification system that will target the appropriate people with the right information to protect our families in the event of a pending natural disaster or an incident that could affect our communities. I would like to thank all of those on both sides of the St Clair River for their vision and cooperative nature to make this system a reality for the citizens in our communities.”

Jeff Bohm, Chairperson of the St. Clair County Board of Commissioners, said, “I am proud of the efforts put forth to establish cross-border collaboration and get the network up and running.  I hope this is one of many projects that can be implemented through partnerships with our Canadian neighbors.”

A press conference on the Bluewater Community Alerting Network will be held on Tuesday, October 25th on the Blue Water Ferry on the St. Clair River.  It will take place at 1:00 PM between and Sombra, ON and Marine City, MI.  Canadian participants should contact Steven Bicum, Deputy Fire Chief, St. Clair Township at 519-481-0111 or sbicum@twp.stclair.on.ca.  A passport, nexus card, or proof of citizenship (birth certificate) will be required by Canada Customs for those traveling to Canada. American residents wishing to attend the press conference should contact Jodi Simpson at 810-989-6965 or jsimpson@stclaircounty.org and provide name and birthdate to be pre-vetted for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. 

For more information on the Bluewater Community Alerting Network, contact Steven Bicum, Deputy Fire Chief, St. Clair Township, ON at 519-481-0111 or sbicum@twp.stclair.on.ca or Jeff Friedland, Director of the St. Clair County, MI Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management at 810-989-6325 or jfriedland@stclaircounty.org.
 

AlertFM Press Release.pdf (89.17 kb)