St. Clair Township, Ontario, and St. Clair County, Mich., have adopted the Alert FM emergency information system.
That’s according to stories in The Sarnia Observer of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.
The effort is dubbed the Bluewater Community Alerting Network. The neighboring jurisdictions are encouraging other cities and regional jurisdictions to join in for a coordinated regional emergency alert system.
The Alert FM system is a product of Global Security Systems. It uses FM infrastructure to deliver emergency alarms and text messages via RDS to end users. Alert FM receivers are being sold to the public. Normally priced at around $40, the receivers are priced in St. Clair Township at $10 through a subsidy.
Radio stations WNFA(FM), WNFR(FM), WSAQ(FM) and CHKS(FM) are participating in the network.
St. Clair Township Fire Chief Roy Dewhirst was quoted saying, “We know it works. It’s been proven many times in the States.” The system is for use for weather alerts, chemical emergencies related to nearby chemical plants and other local needs.
Here’s a video news report by CTV on the story.
New Emergency Warning Devices Unveiled (The Observer)
