Broward and Miami-Dade Counties to Benefit from FM-radio based Emergency Commnication System
JACKSON, Miss.- May 14, 2008- Global Security Systems (GSS) announced today that Broward and Miami-Dade Counties are the first two counties in the state of Florida to have access to ALERT FM, an FM radio-based emergency alert and messaging system.
ALERT FM allows authorized emergency management officials to send alerts and messages to specific groups of first responders, businesses and citizens before, during, and after a crisis. Because the system is FM radio-based, information can be distributed to a large number of recipients in a matter of seconds. Targeted alerts and messages are delivered by satellite to the data subcarrier of FM transmission towers and can be received on ALERT FM receivers and other mobile devices, including PDAs, cell phones and other specialized receivers equipped wtih FM chips. Potential notifications include not only hurricane or other severe weather warnings but geographically targed evacuation instructions and traffic alerts.
"Residents of Broward and Miami-Dade Counties will have the potential to receive emergency information from local emergency operation centers where the system is being tested as well as National Weather Service severe weather warnings and Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) alerts through personal, portable ALERT FM receivers," said R. Matthew Straeb, GSS executive vice president. "Hurricane Katrina reminded us that timely notification of severe weather or simple communication before or after a catastrophic event can help save lives."
The reliablitly and redundancy of ALERT FM lies in the use of a pre-existing network of FM towers, which in turn provides overlapping coverage of an area. The ALERT FM receivers automatically tune themselves to the strongest FM signal in their current locations. The initial South Florida stations participating in ALERT FM are WRTO (98.3), WLRN (91.3) and WAMR (107.5). This ensures distribution over a large geographical "footprint," giving emergency managers the potential to reach more than four million citizens within seconds.
"ALERT FM gives us the ability to distribute real-time notifications, not only to warn citizens of emergencies, but also to brief them after a crisis with information such as trafic alerts, school closings and locations of hurricane supplies," Straeb said. "The receivers are small and portable so that citizens can easily pack them during evacuation, giving them the potential to receive alerts instructing them when it is safe to return home."
ALERT FM has formed a partnership with America's Emergency Network (AEN) to create the nation's first comprehensive emergency communications system. AEN, designed by CBS News Hurricane Analyst Bryan Norcross and Former National Hurricane Director Max Mayfield along with Global Security Systems' ALERT FM, form a complete framework for the creation and distribution of critical alerts and messages.
"The combined AEN/ ALERT FM network will once and for all bridge the information gap that occurs after a disaster," said Max Mayfield, former National Hurricane Center director. "The network will eliminate the breakdowns in communication that hasve plagued government recovery efforts in the past."
AEN collects emergency bullentins and video feeds, stores the informtion in a central database and distributes it via the Internet and television. ALERT FM, which is not dependent on phone lines or cell phone towers, is the mass notification component of the AEN system.
"ALERT FM completes AEN's promise of an emergency communications system that will continue to work when the power lines, phone lines, cell towers, and terrastrial internet have been knocked out," said Bryan Norcros, CBS News and WFOR-TV, Miami hurricane analyst. "Together, our complementary systems provide video briefings, detailed text bulletins and critical alerts before and after a disaster. The systems' satellite backbone means the vital information is delivered to people who need it- even when all traditional delivery systems have failed."
ALERT FM receivers are now available to consumers. Easily programmable, the devices run on AA batteries and have no recurring fees after purchase.
For more information visis www.alertfm.com