Emergency Advisory Radio Stories

A U T U M N 2 0 0 3

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Averting Disaster — A Few ISS Stations Used during Emergencies

Brigantine, New Jersey, a barrier island, successfully weathers Hurricane Isabel with the help of ALERT AM.

Sterling Heights, Michigan, uses Emergency Advisory Radio during the "Black Out of 2003" in Northeast.

Gallatin County, Montana, emergency management deploys portable stations, as flood waters rise.

Union Beach, New Jersey, Emergency Stations advise citizens, as September 11 attacks unfold.

Texas industry activates the largest, synchronized Emergency Radio Network for HAZMAT use.

States Captain Jeff Doran of the Brigantine Beach Police Department, "Our ALERT AM system was the subject of rave reviews throughout the event. Don Williams is the talk show host on the local station in Pleasantville. He lives in Brigantine and listens to the ALERT AM station himself. On his show he was telling people to tune in [to ALERT AM on 1640] for hurricane information."

Don Williams: "I feel the Brigantine Beach emergency advisory radio station was a great service to the community, keeping us up to date on the latest storm developments and what they meant to Brigantine. All the information was there. I believe it had a calming effect. No rumors. Just facts, repeated so you could tune in every now and then and know just what the conditions were and what was expected. A big salute to Captain Doran and company. Great job!"

"We did use our radio station extensively during the 'blackout 2003.' Our City Manager and Emergency Manager were very pleased with the battery back-up system. Even when the City phone system went off line we were able to update the messages with the phone at the transmitter location."

See why Sterling Heights, Michigan, installed their Emergency Advisory Radio Station in 2001.

Michigan Update
See a March 3, 2004, Detroit Free Press article summarizing Southfield, Michigan's, emergency advisory radio program and naming more than a dozen other recently acquired ISS stations in the Detroit area.

This spring, a dramatic jump in temperature triggered snowmelt and flash flooding in Gallatin County, Montana (2,500 square miles). Mudslides and deep standing water made roads impassable within hours. When county officials declared a state of emergency, Jason Shrauger quickly pulled his RoadRunnR Portable Emergency Advisory Radio Station into action near the flooding, deploying portable signs to let motorists know the signal was on the air. (See RoadRunnR web link, below.) Residents learned which roads were closed, what to do and where to go for help.
Emergency managers in large geographic areas who can’t predict just where the next disaster will happen use Portable Emergency Advisory Radio Stations.

See the Gallatin County case study.

Union Beach, New Jersey, is just across the water from lower Manhattan. During the September 11 attacks, emergency manager Mike Harriott advised locals of the 9/11 heightened alert via an Emergency Advisory Radio Station he had installed 6 years earlier. Mike erected road signs with flashing beacons to make residents aware of the 1610 kHz signal, so they would tune in. He also distributed informative refrigerator magnets to every household. Installed in anticipation of the flooding and evacuations common to the Jersey shore, Harriott’s station has provided unexpected benefits beyond 9/11. “Not only has it helped our emergency department enhance community communications,” he states, “but it provides a better work environment for our department.” Mike recommends Emergency Advisory Radio to every community because of “the ease it offers to alert the public . . . [it’s] a way to provide up-to-date, real-time information.”

See the Union Beach case study.

Dow and the Brazosport Emergency Response Agency have found a way to alert people in the event of an incident at the behemoth plant facility – one of the world’s largest. Seven ALERT AM Emergency Advisory Radio Stations – all synchronized with one another – will encircle the facility by the end of this year. (See the ALERT AM web link, below.) This network of simulcast stations will keep citizens informed 24 hours a day. The system, designed by Information Station Specialists, uses exclusive RealTIME Global Positioning System technology to allow each of the stations to broadcast the the same messages on the same frequency with minimal inter-station interference. Dow’s network of Emergency Advisory Radio Stations will soon be the largest synchronized network of its kind in the world.

Reference: Chandler Westjohn of Dow Chemical.

Product Info . . .


Cover your community with accessible information, 24 hours a day. ALERT AM gives an emergency manager the ability to create a library of specialized broadcast messages, ready to put on the air in an instant when a situation arises. Install virtually anywhere, with full remote operation by telephone or cell phone. AM signal range is 3-5 miles (25-75 square miles). Link ALERT AM to a siren system and trigger special messages as sirens sound. Weather and EAS warnings are broadcast automatically, when designated counties are selected. Options include 4-day battery backup, multi-station synchronization, power outage notification and more. See the ALERT AM Emergency Advisory Radio Station web page.	The ALERT AM broadcast has switched from promoting daily events to preventing deadly ones. Trigger the bright triple-flash LED’s into action through your existing two-way radio frequency. Flashing ALERT Signs can also activate automatically when your community’s sirens sound. Powered by the sun, these signs can be installed inexpensively, virtually anywhere. See the Flashing ALERT Signs web page to signal your citizens that the situation is critical.	Take Emergency Advisory Radio on the road to disaster(s). This portable radio station is totally wireless, solar powered and cellp hone controlled. Portable signs erect quickly to tell motorists how to find the information radio frequency. Affording the same range as fixed-point ALERT AM stations, RoadRunnR stations can make “all the difference” in emergencies that can happen anywhere (HAZMAT, terrorism, tornado) and those that move (traffic congestion, flooding and fire). Take RoadRunnR to your next mega-event (the way Los Angeles County does) and provide updated parking, traffic and safety information. See the RoadRunnR Portable Advisory Radio Station web page.
See ISS ALERT Stations in use across America