Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Alerting topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Malibu council asks staff to pursue Alert FM and other indoor alerting options after siren study
Summary
Residents urged a return to sirens after recent disasters; staff reported a siren feasibility study had found limitations for indoor warning and proposed exploring Alert FM, RIC infrastructure and prototype indoor receivers. Council directed the Public Safety Commission and staff to evaluate options and return with recommendations.
Residents pressed the council to revisit outdoor sirens after learning that in some emergency events cell phones may not reach everyone — "Siren would have been critical," one resident said — but staff said a previous feasibility and sound study flagged limits: sirens are primarily an outdoor alerting method and require many installations to reach canyon communities.
The public safety director described alternatives under active exploration: extending a local FM station signal and using Alert FM (a radio‑based indoor alerting system) and testing a regional RIC (Regional Interoperable Communications) receiver prototype for indoor alerts. "One option that's been out there is called Alert FM ... we began the MOU with KBUU to extend KBUU's signal ... NKBU is testing that," the public safety director said, noting additional reception tests are needed.
Councilmembers encouraged staff and the Public Safety Commission to move quickly. One councilmember suggested piloting a single siren or mobile siren unit similar to systems being used elsewhere, while others emphasized indoor alert technology and quick procurement of proven systems.
Council directed staff and the Public Safety Commission to evaluate Alert FM, RIC and other indoor alerting approaches, to test FM reception across Malibu and to return with a recommendation as soon as possible ahead of fire season.
