Emergency Warning Systems Ltd (EWS) is a Victorian company that has developed a radio break-in alert system that was trialed for the Victorian Fire Services Commissioner in November 2012.

The trial was most successful and broadcast mock alert messages to three target zones, one 500 metres in radius, the next 2kms, and the third 10kms.

EWS’s patented technology is designed to save lives in emergencies by broadcasting a radio message saying what to do, when to do it and how.  It searches for and finds every radio station operating in an area.  It then broadcasts the emergency message in the target zone on all stations to ensure that anyone listening to any radio station in the zone will get the message to take the appropriate action to protect lives and property.

Eldorado was selected for the trial by the FSC because it is an area where there is acute fire danger in summer time and mobile telephone reception is poor to non-existent.

The demonstration was conducted with a number of emergency services personnel in attendance representing Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, the CFA, SES, DSE and local government.  Also attending was former Emergency Services Commissioner, Bruce Esplin who supports EWS' technology.

The key benefit of the technology is its ability to broadcast different messages to different locations simultaneously on the same radio stations.  This allows the communication of pertinent messages to people at risk to enable them to make informed decisions.  The technology can also be integrated with other systems such as Telstra's Emergency Alert.

EWS' technology can be deployed as a fixed unit at a location where a threat is common such as a bushfire or flood zone or mounted in an emergency vehicle.  EWS can control the reach of all messages in terms of the target zone.