[EAS] Vermont BLU Blue Alert EAS test - doesn't seem like best practice ...

[Ed Czarnecki]

Vermont just fired of an EAS test of a BLU alert via IPAWS CAP.   Anyone on the list from Vermont that can tell us if there was public outreach before the test?

The message raises a number of concerns, at least to me:

"A civil authority has issued A BLUE ALERT for the following counties or areas: Vermont; at 1:49 PM on AUG 23, 2019 Effective until 3:49 PM. Message from IPAWSCAP. This is a TEST of the Vermont BLUE Alert notification system. This is a TEST of the Vermont BLUE Alert notification system. Only a test. - On Friday, August 23rd at approximately 9:30 am a Vermont law enforcement officer was shot and killed near Pond Road in the Town of Amsterdam in France County, Vermont - by John S Doe in blue 2007 Honda Civic with Vermont registration A B C 1 2 3 4. - Suspect John S Doe is described as a white male approximately 5 feet, 9 inches tall, 160 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair and was last seen wearing blue jeans, a grey Patagonia T-Shirt, dark-colored sneakers, and a black baseball hat. - If the suspect and or vehicle is encountered DO NOT make contact. Call 9 1 1."

While they say it's a TEST three times, I do have voice a concern over including simulated Blue Alert text in the test message.

And if by some coincidence, my name was John Doe, and drive a 2007 Honda, I might want to say out of sight for  a while ... there are at least 54 people actually named John Doe in Vermont.

Over EAS relay it would, of course, simply be a BLU alert - no text crawl reference to this being a test: "A civil authority has issued A BLUE ALERT for the following counties or areas: Vermont; at 1:49 PM on AUG 23, 2019 Effective until 3:49 PM. Message from IPAWSCAP."

One of the key reason why we put in Triggered CAP Polling as a feature - grab the full CAP message instead of the short less-informative EAS text.

Edward Czarnecki | Senior Director - Strategy & Government Affairs | ext. 122
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