WASHINGTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is accepting applications for individuals to serve on the new Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, or IPAWs, subcommittee of the National Advisory Council (NAC).

As mandated in the IPAWs Modernization Act of 2015, the subcommittee will develop and submit recommendations for an improved integrated public alert and warning system to the NAC. The subcommittee will consider common alerting and warning protocols, standards, terminology, and operating procedures to ensure standards and operating procedures exist for a national public alert warning system.

Currently IPAWS is a modernization and integration of the nation’s alert and warning infrastructure. Federal, state, local, tribal and territorial alerting authorities use IPAWS as a way to alert and warn the public about serious emergencies using the Emergency Alert System (EAS), Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio, and other public alerting systems from a single interface. 

The IPAWS subcommittee will be comprised of federal officials from FEMA, the Federal Communications Commission, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Commerce and the National Council on Disability, in line with Congressional mandated membership guidelines.

The FEMA Administrator and the NAC will appoint members from applicants representing the following disciplines to ensure a variety of expert perspectives are reflected in the subcommittee:

  • Local, state and tribal government officials;
  • Emergency managers and first responders;
  • Vendors, developers and manufacturers of communications systems;
  • Broadcasting, cable or satellite industry officials;
  • National organizations representing either people with disabilities, functional needs, the elderly, or limited English proficiency; and
  • Consumer privacy advocates.

Subcommittee appointment terms will begin in 2017 and end upon the termination of the IPAWS Subcommittee in April 2019.  The IPAWS Subcommittee will meet approximately four times a year, twice in person and twice via webinar.

Individuals interested in serving on the NAC’s IPAWS Subcommittee are invited to apply for appointment by submitting a resume or curriculum vitae (CV) to the Office of the National Advisory Council, by fax, email, or mail. Letters of recommendation may also be provided, but are not required. Applications and/or nominations must also include the following information: the applicant’s full name, home and business phone numbers, preferred e-mail address, home and business mailing addresses, current position title and organization, and the discipline area of interest (i.e., emergency management). Applications will be accepted until October 6, 2016.

Members selected for the council serve without compensation from the federal government.  However, consistent with the charter, members receive travel reimbursement and per diem, under applicable federal travel regulations. Registered lobbyists, current FEMA employees, Disaster Assistance Employees, Reservists, FEMA contractors, and potential FEMA contractors will not be considered for subcommittee membership.

For more information on the NAC, IPAWS Subcommittee and application procedures visit:  www.fema.gov/national-advisory-council.

 

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Background: In 2007, FEMA began modernizing the nation’s public alert and warning system by integrating new technologies into the existing alert systems.  The new system, known as the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) became operational in 2011. Today, IPAWS supports over 700 local, state, tribal, and federal users through a standardized message format. IPAWS enables public safety alerting authorities such as emergency managers, police and fire departments to send the same alert and warning message over multiple communication pathways at the same time to citizens in harm’s way, helping to save lives. For more information on FEMA’s IPAWS, go to: www.fema.gov/ipaws.  For more preparedness information, go to www.ready.gov.

Background: The NAC consists of up to 35 members, all of whom are experts and leaders in their respective fields. The members of the NAC are appointed by the FEMA Administrator and are composed of federal, state, tribal, local, and private-sector leaders and subject matter experts in law enforcement, fire, emergency medical services, hospital, public works, emergency management, state and local governments, public health, emergency response, standard settings and accrediting organizations, representatives of individuals with disabilities, infrastructure protection, cyber security, communications, and homeland security communities.

 

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

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FEMA Seeks Applicants for Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Subcommittee of the FEMA National Advisory Council

WASHINGTON —The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Continuity Programs’ Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Division has begun to assess the feasibility of a public alert and warning capability that is being developed in the private sector.   

New technologies could deliver detailed emergency information to the public with pictures and videos of evacuation routes, storm tracks, and shelter information – increasing community preparedness before, during, and after a disaster. The media alerts will be able to include multilingual and multi-format information to warn non-English speaking populations and people with access and functional needs.  

“FEMA is committed to working with the private sector to examine and improve future alerts and warnings,” said Roger Stone, Acting Assistant Administrator for National Continuity Programs. “New systems could someday include pictures and video as part of the advanced alert and warning information provided to the general public.”

One such technology being considered is the Advanced Warning and Response Network (AWARN).  AWARN works by using advanced capabilities in the next generation of digital television broadcast system called ATSC 3.0 being standardized by the Advanced Television Systems Committee.  The emerging television broadcast standard provides for the transmission of large media rich, data messages over-the-air to mobile, portable, and fixed television and video devices without interrupting ongoing television shows.   

FEMA’s IPAWS is a national system for local alerting. IPAWS enables authorities at all levels of government to alert and warn people in areas endangered by disasters. IPAWS is used by federal, state, and local authorities to send emergency alerts to cellular phones as Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs), to radio and television as Emergency Alert System (EAS) broadcasts, to NOAA Weather Radios, and to an All-Hazards Alert and Information Feed for Internet applications, services, and websites.

For more information on IPAWS, go to www.fema.gov/ipaws

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FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

Original source – 

FEMA to Assess Future Over-the-Air Broadcast Alerting Technology