The Santa Monica Fire Department has joined AwareCA, California’s statewide public safety information app, the department announced Oct. 14. The app gives residents another direct source of information from fire departments and other public safety agencies.
The department is participating alongside fire agencies across the Los Angeles region. The effort is supported by the Los Angeles Area Fire Chiefs Association, which brings together leaders from 29 departments.
The free app provides incident information, wildfire activity, evacuation details and agency updates on a common statewide platform. It contains no advertising and does not solicit donations.
“Our community trusts us to provide accurate information when it matters most,” Fire Chief Matt Hallock said. He added that “emergencies don’t stop at city boundaries, and neither should access to trusted public safety information.”
Users can save up to 10 locations, such as a home, workplace, child’s school or relatives’ homes, and set notification areas around them. The app can also use a phone’s location to identify nearby incidents. Users choose what they are notified about and how often. Updates from participating agencies can reach them within seconds.
Each participating agency controls what it publishes through its established incident command and public information processes. AwareCA does not replace existing emergency communication systems. The department will continue to use its current notification systems, website and social media.
“We aren’t asking residents to rely on a single source during an emergency,” Hallock said. “We are asking them to make sure one of their sources is the agency responsible for managing the incident. AwareCA makes that easier.”
The regional approach is particularly important in Los Angeles County. Residents there often live, work and have family in different jurisdictions, and an emergency such as a wildfire can quickly move from one agency’s area into another’s. Users can follow the places that matter to them without knowing which fire department serves each address.
The department encourages residents to download AwareCA before the next emergency. Residents should add their home and other important locations, select the types of incidents to follow, set notification areas and enable notifications.
AwareCA was developed by Intterra with California fire service and public safety partners. It is available free for iPhone and Android at aware.ca.gov.
Edited by SMDP Staff