Herriman officials review emergency-notification gaps after multi-jurisdiction incident

Herriman City Council members and city public-safety staff reviewed a recent multi-jurisdiction incident and outlined steps to tighten emergency-notification procedures, after an initial evacuation alert reached a much larger area than intended and went out under the city’s name though the city did not initiate it.

Staff told the council that the first broad push notification used a cell-tower-based federal system (IPAWS/iPAWS) that can override phone privacy settings and reach devices connected to a tower. "Those first notices went out, under our name, but we did not initiate those," a city speaker said, and staff said they are working with their vendor to clarify who pushes those alerts and how the message is labeled.

Why it matters: city officials said residents expect immediate, precise information during fast-moving incidents, but multiple technical and procedural limits—jurisdictional complexity, tower-based broadcasts, and opt-in requirements for cell-number reverse-911 systems—can leave people confused or without clear instructions. Staff emphasized that narrowly targeted, actionable instructions typically arrive later via opt-in systems such as Everbridge or the vendor-linked Rave app.

City staff described several concrete findings and changes. They said the initial automated template message was vague, and vendor telemetry shows the radius intended as one mile expanded to two miles in practice, reaching roughly 8,000 subscribers in that area—an estimated 12–15% opt-in rate. Staff noted that Everbridge requires a person to log in and send a targeted message, so detailed evacuation instructions often arrive 30–45 minutes into an event. "That really doesn't happen until we're probably 30 to 45 minutes into an event," a staff speaker said.

Officials also flagged command-and-control and jurisdiction issues. The crash that triggered the alerts occurred on the Riverton side of a river, so Riverton Police Department led the criminal-investigation response while a multi-agency crash team coordinated on-scene operations. Staff recommended that, for incidents involving fire or potential gas leaks, the fire command should weigh in before a broad evacuation push is sent and that dispatch channels be used for cross-agency confirmation prior to pressing the alert button.

To reduce confusion next time, staff said they have already revised the reverse-9-1-1 template to require field supervisors or commanders to define the evacuation area and wording before a message sends. They also described an internal distribution list of about 18–20 city contacts who should receive any alert pushed to the city so staff and elected officials have the same baseline information.

Councilmembers pressed for more training and clearer elected-official roles in emergencies. One councilmember asked whether FEMA or county training for elected officials could be scheduled; Salt Lake County Emergency Management's elected-official training was offered as an option. Staff said they are preparing in-house briefings and will share updated emergency-management protocols and PIO talking points with council members.

Council and staff discussed public-facing channels. Officials said social media and local media pickup are useful for rapid reach but warned they can also spread inaccurate information that staff must correct. "The news media will grab those and then share them," a staff speaker said, describing social media as a secondary channel after an initial tower-based alert.

On damage and response: staff reported no major structural damage to city facilities beyond some roof burn marks; facilities crews and a scheduled structural inspection were arranging repairs and cleanup. Members praised first responders and bystanders who assisted at the scene while noting that large crowds and people filming complicated crowd-control efforts.

Next steps: staff said they will continue working with the vendor (referred to in the transcript as Beck) and neighboring jurisdictions (Riverton and South Jordan) to refine alert boundaries and procedures, implement template and protocol changes, and schedule training for council members. The council moved to adjourn at the end of the session; the transcript records a motion but no second or recorded vote.