The Municipality of Kincardine is preparing to test its Public Alerting Sirens on Wednesday, July 12, 2023 between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
The sirens are part of the municipality's alerting system in the event of a nuclear emergency. In addition to the sirens, they also use Alert FM and the Kincardine Alert (RAVE) program.
"What we'll use the Alert FM boxes for is anyone within 10 km of Bruce Power," said Shane Watson, Emergency Management Coordinator with the Municipality of Kincardine. "The reason we have those is because we have a very diverse community. We have the Amish and Mennonite community that potentially don't have radio, television, landline, or cell phones that are readily available for quick messaging."
Watson said the devices give the opportunity for quick messaging, also allowing those with poor cell reception to benefit.
Kincardine Alert (RAVE) is a platform that allows anyone in the municipality to sign up for direct alerts.
"You can sign up for it with your email, cell phone, landline, text, all of it, none of it, some of it, whatever you want, it's free," said Watson. "Depending on the emergency, we can get that message to you and we can also have a conversation with you to see if you need help."
Kincardine Alert is used for all types of emergencies. More information on it can be found here.
When you hear the alerts on July 12, Watson said you don't need to do anything.
"It's just a test," he said. "It's us testing the audible, visuals, everything that goes along with the sirens to make sure they're working correctly."
At the beginning of the alert, there will be a voice letting everyone know it's a test. IT will come on again after the test has concluded.
If you'd like to sign up for Kincardine Alert to receive messaging before, during, and after different emergency events, you can do so here.
