Emergency Management

PRISM is a new county-wide emergency notification system that can be used to notify the Public during an emergency or disaster.

PRISM, which stands for Protective Response Interactive Services Management, uses two interactive applications to deliver emergency information to the public. PRISM-GIS is used to provide mapping information and PRISM-911 is used in delivering mass telephone messages.

This emergency notification system will be able to send telephone notifications to residents and businesses within Huron County impacted by, or in danger of being impacted by, an emergency or disaster.

PRISM can be used to quickly notify the public during any of the following types of emergencies:

Alerts can be issued for a single neighbourhood, one or more municipalities, a radius surrounding an incident, an area of shoreline, or the entire county. They can be issued 24 hours a day.

Emergency response personnel use the system to notify only those homes and businesses at risk with information on the event and/or actions (such as boil water advisories or evacuation) they are being asked to take.

It can take as little as 15 minutes to start a mass telephone campaign to the public during emergency situations.

GIS (Geographical Information System) mapping capabilities are used to quickly trigger alerts for specific geographic areas. To define an area, the alert issuer selects the area on the map. PRISM-GIS will display a list of residents in that area and then PRISM-911 uses information provided by residents to issue alerts by phone.

PRISM relies on information provided by residents and property owners. Only numbers within our system can receive a call during an emergency notification campaign. Contact numbers can include home, work and/or cellular telephone numbers.

Annually the numbers in our system will be called and county residents will be asked to verify their information - name, address, primary telephone and/or cellular telephone number.

PRISM is the first Canadian-made municipal Emergency Notification System. It was developed by the City of Quinte West GIS and Information Technology staffs. This system is unique to the City of Quinte West and County of Huron.

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Transcript for Huron County PRISM-911

(Opens with PRISM-911 logo with the tagline "Keeping You Informed and Safe." The website URL www.huroncounty.ca/prism also appears.)

Voiceover: PRISM is a county-wide emergency notification system that can be used to notify the public by telephone during an emergency or disaster.

(A photograph of a small boy appears. Cut to sample Police News Release. Cut to aerial map of Ontario which zooms down to region of Huron County.)

Voiceover: A six year-old goes missing from a school area. Police take action and then do something that until now had not been possible in Huron County. Police initiate protective response interactive services management, or PRISM.

(Cut to Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping software showing Huron County. A series of aerial maps are shown in sequence with each zooming closer to an area located in the town of Clinton.)

Voiceover: This is just a demonstration conducted by Huron County’s Emergency Services to show off their new ground-breaking technology. The benefits are endless – think of a school lock-down with a gun-man on the loose or toxic fires that require mass evacuations. All police or Municipal Emergency staff have to do is contact PRISM and everyone in the affected area get a phone call. With missing children, this acts like an amber alert on steroids. In this example, a child has been reported missing from an area school.

(An aerial map of Clinton is shown with a gold transparent circle on it.)

Voiceover: The PRISM team, using PRISM GIS, establishes a 500 metre radius, as requested by police. A corresponding notification list from the radius is established. Once the police release the public message it is recorded either by PRISM staff or police and the message is released through the PRISM-911 system and a call-out begins to the notification area.

(Photograph of cell phone is shown with the display showing Emergency Call 519-606-5001)

(Phone Rings)

(A line drawing of the map of Clinton appears with the radius appearing as a gold circle. Dark gold blocks of colour gradually appear within the circle.)

Resident Voice: "Hello."

PRISM Voice: "This is the Huron County PRISM Emergency Notification System calling with an important message. Please press a number key to continue."

(Phone Button Press)

Police Voice: “This is Constable Joanna Van Mierlo with the Ontario Provincial Police at 10:00 am on Monday, April 19th.

Members of the Huron OPP are seeking the assistance of the public in locating a missing 6 year old boy from the area of Raglan Street and Rattenbury Street, East in Clinton.

The boy is Jim Smith. He is described as approximately 45” tall with a medium build. He has short, dark hair and was wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs ball cap. He was also wearing a blue jacket with a Toronto Maple Leafs logo, a white T-shirt, blue jeans, running shoes and was carrying a Spider Man book bag.

Residents are being asked to check their property and outbuildings and anyone with information should call the Huron OPP immediately at 1-888-310-1122 or by dialling 911.

Further updates will be provided as information becomes available.”

Voiceover: In a matter of minutes, the voice message is sent out to land lines and cell phones across Huron County, or in this case a specific area surrounding the school and residents are given all of the information about the missing child.

(Cut to street view of corner of Raglan Street and Rattenbury Street East in Clinton.)

Voiceover: The PRISM-911 system automatically dials and sends the recorded emergency message to any part or all areas of Huron County when activated. A follow up message can be sent to the same group to provide additional information or inform them that the emergency has passed, or in this example, the child has been located.

(Cut to line drawing of map of Clinton with the gold coloured circle. Blocks of darker gold gradually appear within the circle.)

Police Voice: “This is Constable Joanna Van Mierlo with the Ontario Provincial Police at 2:15 PM on Monday, April 19th. Further to the morning alert, be advised that 6 year old Jim Smith has been located safe and sound by the OPP.”

Voiceover: Since emergencies can occur at anytime, PRISM-911 can be initiated to call residents 24/7.

(Cut to photograph of buildings on fire in downtown Clinton. Fade to notice of Precautionary Boil Water Advisory from Municipality of Huron East. Fade to photograph of flooding river banks. Fade to image of a bacterial slide. Fade to photograph of emergency vehicles.)

Voiceover: PRISM-911 can be used in many types of situations other than a missing person; it can be used for boil water advisories, a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, or other emergencies.

(The PRISM-911 logo appears with the tagline "Keeping You Informed and Safe." The website URL www.huroncounty.ca/prism also appears.)

Voiceover: The web-based technology is managed by Huron County’s Emergency Services. It is a system that can make your community safer.

(Cut to the PRISM website and the online registration form.)

Voiceover: To ensure that you and your family or business can be notified during an emergency situation, it is important that you register for PRISM-911. Registering is simple, easy and free. Visit: www.huroncounty.ca/PRISM and select the “Submit your PRISM-911 form here” button. Then complete the form. You can choose to be called at your home, work or cell phone number.

Your personal information will not be shared with anyone else and will only be used for emergency notification purposes.

(The PRISM-911 logo appears with the tagline "Keeping You Informed and Safe." The website URL www.huroncounty.ca/prism also appears.)

Voiceover: Make sure you can be notified and know what to do during emergency situations. Register today for PRISM-911 – keeping you informed and safe in Huron County.