The CEO of the company managing Florida’s emergency alert system apologized on Monday for last week’s rude awakening.
EverBridge fired off a test alert at 4:45 a.m. on Thursday morning. The test ignited outrage across the state, especially in Tallahassee.
Gov. Ron DeSantis demanded “swift accountability” for whoever was responsible for what he labeled “a completely inappropriate use of this system.”
In a statement, the Florida Division of Emergency Management explained that the alert was supposed to have been broadcast over television. Instead, EverBridge set the technical coding to deliver the alert over cellphones.
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On Monday, Everbridge CEO David Wagner accepted responsibility for the mishap.
“If you or anyone you know was awakened by a test alert on your phone at 4:45am ET on Thursday, April 20th, I’m sorry,” Wagner said.
“It should not have happened.”
He then explained how it occurred.
“Human errors caused the alert to go out, in violation of a number of routine precautionary steps that should have been followed prior to the release of any emergency notification,” said Wagner.
“In this instance, our system delivered the message as designed – that’s the good news. The bad news is a live message was inadvertently sent to millions of residents’ cellphones, instead of a notification sent only to Florida broadcasters.”
“That notification should not have been sent to you.”
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As a result, he continued, the contractor has “re-examined” its procedures and is adding further safeguards so its customers can send only the messages people should receive.
“We hope that FEMA will review everything that happened. Their oversight is appropriate, and we welcome it. We will also continue to work with the Florida Division of Emergency Management to provide them with everything they need to keep you safe,” Wagner added.
Our job at Everbridge is to give you and all of Florida’s emergency departments, at the state and county level, peace of mind so you can sleep through the night knowing you will be awoken and alerted if there is a hurricane or an imminent life-threatening event,” Wagner continued. “The last thing we want to do is wake you up when you should be asleep.”
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