Cooper Roam Secure Alert Network Connects to FEMA Alert Systems
Cooper Notification is adding the ability to connect to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Wireless Emergency Alert system and Emergency Alert System through the company's mass notification system, the Roam Secure Alert Network.
The FEMA Wireless Emergency Alert system, formerly known as the Commercial Mobile Alert System, provides three types of alerts: extreme weather via the National Weather Service (tsunamis, floods, hurricanes, etc.), national emergencies (issued from the office of the President of the United States), and AMBER alerts via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and local law enforcement (child abductions). The Emergency Alert System alerts relevant agencies "to send warnings via broadcast, cable, satellite, and wireline communications pathways" and serves as a backup in the event that other emergency alert systems fail. Both are part of the federal Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS).
"The ability to connect to IPAWS allows our authorized customers to reach the public at their current location, not just where they live," said Scott Hearn, president of Cooper Notification, in a prepared statement. "For example, Benton County, Arkansas Office of Emergency Communications and the District of Columbia Homeland Security & Emergency Management Agency will be able to communicate to business travelers and tourists who are in their area temporarily. IPAWS won't replace other notification systems, but it will complement other systems like RSAN allowing end users to have as many channels as possible to communicate in a crisis."
Cooper Notification provides emergency alert services to colleges, universities, and schools, as well as organizations outside the education sector, such as hospitals and state and federal agencies. Additional details about the IPAWS-compliant system can be found on Cooper Notification's site.