Test of Charlottetown's alert system went well, says fire chief

A day after a test of the national alert system was done, the City of Charlottetown did its own test Thursday to see how its one-year-old alert system is working.

Charlottetown Fire Chief Randy MacDonald, whois also the head of the local emergency measures organization, says thetest was a success.

"I'm pleased to report everything went well,"MacDonaldsaid.

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Unlike the national alert system, the Charlottetown alert system is subscription-based and does not depend on various carriers to ensure the message is received.

MacDonald said those wanting to receive the alerts can access the city website and sign up.

"Click on 'alert system,' add all your data into the field and you can enter in up to 35 different devices and you can receive different messages if you wish," MacDonald said.

'We want to see everybody on there'

Those messages include road closures, snow removal warnings andemergency warnings.

MacDonaldsaid the system now has 3,200 subscribers, and another 400 joinedin the last week but he's hoping for more.

"We want to see everybody on there," MacDonald said.

For instance if a fire downtown was billowing smoke, he said the city and the local EMO would send out an alert to arearesidents who are subscribed.

"We would want to make sure the people stay in place, close your windows, stay inside," MacDonaldsaid. "There could be localized flooding situation taking place. We do have storm surges taking place here in the city."

The police department mayalso use the alert system, he added,and the water department could use it to issue a boil-water order.

"There's many applications for it," MacDonaldsaid.

Be prepared

It's emergency preparedness week across Canada andthe fire chief said people should always be aware ofrisks.

"We live on an island and there's a lot of seasonal risks. We're entering now into hurricane seaso,so keep an eye on that sort of thing."

Everyone should have an emergency kit with enough supplies to be self-sufficient for 72 hours,MacDonaldsaid.

Information on developing an emergency plan can be found on the city fire department's website.

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