AN INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY ALERT
Every community needs an emergency public alerting system. The people who sell sirens are often quoted as having the ultimate public alerting system. There are those who would take issue, like for instance ALL hearing impaired, those who work in high noise level environments, and those who choose to operate their car or home audio systems at volume levels exceeding OSHA safety standards.
Then, there is the practical aspect of measuring cost effectiveness. For example, a typical alerting siren will normally vary between $15,000 and $20,000 per siren based on purchase cost provided by current users. These same users tell us that the effective coverage area rarely exceeds three square miles. Keep in mind that we did not say three miles in all directions for the siren. We said three SQUARE miles. That's a LOT less than 3 miles in all directions (actually less than a mile by our calculations).
We think there is an better way to alert people and our definition of alert is not limited to just weather alerts. There are all kinds of events that require public notification. Severe weather just happens to be ONE of things the public needs to know. Chemical spills, wild fires, floods, major accidents, and traffic disruptions are just a few that immediately come to mind.
This material outlines the advantages of a total early warning program that includes a solid CAP plan (Community Alerting Program), Community Alerting Receiver (CAR), and national weather service alert radios. The combination of these early warning methods, as outlined below will give citizens in your community unprecedented early warning service.
The most essential element is a practical operating plan. The CAP plan can be as simple as listing the local primary broadcasting station to call in the event of area wide life threatening events in your community. The local primary broadcasting station may be in a city 40 or 50 miles away or greater, however, when you activate that station, every television and radio station that is broadcasting to your community can get the CAP alert via a Community Alerting Receiver (CAR). If you call or activate the broadcasters in your community only, assuming your community is not the community where the local primary station resides, only those listening to that station will be informed. More detailed CAP plans are available from your state association of broadcasters or your state Emergency Management Agency (EMA) at no cost.
The fundamental element of the CAP system is a VHF Hi-Band or UHF frequency available to activate CAR units. We will not address outdoor sirens in this material since we do not feel they are cost effective or operationally efficient. If you already have sirens or wish to add them as a part of your total system, they can only enhance the overall benefits of the CAP system.
An existing VHF or UHF public safety 2-way radio system can be used for transmission of CAP messages. If you do not have transmitting facilities, we can provide pricing on low cost systems using readily available MURS or GMRS frequencies
The second element of the CAP system is the Community Alerting Receiver for use in targeted facilities. The facilities targeted will be different from community to community, but will always include any facility with a dependent population, i.e., schools, day care centers, nursing homes, hospitals, and any similar facility. These facilities need more preparation time to respond to the life threatening event. They need immediate, detailed information that only a local government can provide in a direct broadcast.
Many other facilities could benefit from CAR units. This would include any facility with large numbers of people congregating in the building, such as churches, shopping malls, manufacturing plants, entertainment facilities and outdoor recreational areas. CAR units are also well suited for hazard concern areas, including areas prone to flooding, areas adjacent to chemical plants, or other hazardous areas. The cost of a fully functioning CAR unit is approximately $175 for each targeted facility. This cost is generally paid by the user facility. In some cases a local corporate sponsor may pay for the cost of installing CAR units in churches, schools, and retirement homes.
The CAR unit looks like a commercial personal 2-way radio. In effect, that is exactly what it is with several minor differences. First it is a dual mode scanning receiver capable of receiving selectively addressed messages from the participating governmental agency. Second, it includes a built in NOAA weather receiver with alert notification. It can be alerted either on the municipal/county emergency frequency, by a NOAA alert or both!
The CAR unit has no capability to transmit on the CAP or NOAA channel. However, it CAN transmit on up to eight unlicensed frequencies when assigned as a part of a volunteer response group. Two models are available. One is for VHF. The other is for UHF. NEITHER requires an operating license!
An earlier mention was made of the issue of alerting those with hearing impairments or those who worked in high noise level areas. A second device known as CAR2 provides a solution. CAR2 is a vibration alert text message receiver, similar to an ordinary beeper, but with the ability to receive text messages. These devices have long been used by volunteer fire departments and others who need to be privately alerted with message retention capability. The price for these receivers is in the $130 range.
We said we wouldnt spend any time on conventional sirens. Still, they have their place, particularly if they are already in place. The use of outdoor sirens will likely continue for many years to come. Sirens can be considered as the "Safety Net" alerting for the general populace but as mentioned earlier, the economics just dont justify installing new sirens (at least in our opinion). There are many advantages to a good operating plan, NOAA weathers radio, and CAR units. However to expect the advantages of these systems at all times for all the population is unrealistic.
You can ask the public to buy weather radios, but it cant be demanded. In the best CAP environment, not a single television or radio will wake your threatened public. CAR units are ideal for targeted facilities. CAR units can wake up your threatened individuals, give detailed information to the targeted facilities, but it is very difficult to get CAR units into all parts of the community. There are great disadvantages in having sirens only, but when you mix them in with NOAA, and CAR units in the manner described here, you will have an outstanding early warning program that will reach the vast majority of your population.
Since sirens are a "Safety Net" alerting, what is generally preferred is the strongest (loudest) sirens available. According to one source, any siren above 125 decibels would be considered adequate. Any siren above 130 decibels would be preferable. Some say a 135 decibel siren will cover up to 10 square miles. In actual practice, the users we have interviewed have not been so optimistic in their reporting. A 125 decibel siren is claimed to cover about 3 square miles. Anything less that 125 decibels and you will need many sirens. As you can see, the cost of outdoor sirens can be very expensive even when considering the quoted claim that a 135 decibel siren could be obtained at a cost of as little as $3000 a square mile.
Perhaps the most important element of an efficient early warning system for a yearly public education campaign that encourages the general community to purchase enhanced early warning through a NOAA weather radio or the local governments CAP program. Depending on what the household is willing to spend, a citizen can make a decision to get more detailed alert information from the National Weather Service or from the local government if the local government has a CAP program. The resident could get a weather alert radio that is county specific (SAME), for about $70. The SAME weather radio is very good but can get annoying because of activation to watches. The SAME is mostly limited to weather hazards, therefore if there is a non-weather life threatening hazard within the community, the homeowner may not get this information. They can get a non-county specific radio for about $30-$40. These devices can be very annoying because they can go off for any weather hazard in a 4000-6000 square mile area.
In a CAP community, the homeowner could be offered the opportunity to purchase a CAR unit as an all hazards radio or even used as a part of a storm spotter and emergency response team. The purchase of the CAP would be through the participating government agency or through an authorized retailer. The cost of the CAR unit to the homeowner would be about $175 ($130 for the silent alert CAR2). To allow access to the CAP to all the residents who desire their local government warning, the city or county could offer CAR units through a utility bill to be paid over an extended time period. A small monthly service fee could be added to pay for the administration of the program.
A successful CAP program depends on planning, implementation, operational routines, public awareness, and a commitment to make the system provide the intended function to save lives. Can CAP do the job? We think so! For example, let us compare the cost of installing just one outdoor siren at $17,000 each to cover a very small municipality. What could you have for $17,000?
To find out, send us an email to sales@falconwireless.net. Tell us your name, title, organization, address, and phone number. You will be amazed at what we can do for your community for so little money with flexible payment plans than can meet your requirements. Send us that email today. You'll be glad you did!
As a final note, we invite you to visit a special web site developed by NOAA that provides a significant amount of information of consumer devices used for severe weather alerts. Although limited only to weather emergencies, one or more of these devices may be incorporated as a part of your total CAP program. The web address is http://205.156.54.206/nwr/special_need.htm.
