The city of St Albert has taken steps forward in adding the same technology used in Los Angeles to provide real time data sharing in the case of a serious emergency in the city.
On January 21, city council participated in a workshop to familiarize themselves with the features of the Everbridge emergency management notification system which is designed to streamline communications among officials, first responders and city staff in the case of a serious situation occurring in the city.
Mark Pickford, St. Albert’s emergency management manager, stated that the system has been in testing for several months and is expected to go live in March. It aims to address a significant gap in the city’s ability to send targeted alerts to staff during critical events, such as extreme weather or mass casualty situations. One such scenario was simulated in December during a mock attack at the Jack Kraft recycling depot. Everbridge is designed specifically for internal communication among city employees and does not replace the Alberta Emergency Alert system, which is intended for the general public.
The U.S.-based company behind Everbridge provides similar systems to Strathcona County, Lamont County, and the City of Red Deer, as well as Florida’s statewide alert network. Its global clientele includes Virginia’s Loudoun and Fairfax counties, Siemens, Nokia, and Microsoft, among others.
Pickford described Everbridge as a scalable, “Ikea-style” base model that can be tailored to meet St. Albert’s needs.
For example, the system can integrate automatic extreme weather warnings from Environment Canada, such as tornado watches, ensuring critical alerts are distributed immediately without requiring manual approval. “We’ve customized it so that the most urgent information gets out right away, while less significant alerts, like minor weather updates, can be prioritized differently,” he explained.
According to a city documents, the system is projected to cost $100,000 over five years.
