Calls are being made for more Canvey residents to sign up for a text alert service run by Calor Gas in the wake of a new report. The document, produced by Essex County Council about being prepared in the event of a catastrophe at one of the island’s two fuel terminals, suggests the use of emergency text messages and alert systems that could warn islanders if a disaster hit.

However, Calor Gas has already implemented the Alert Cascade emergency notification service; the system was set up in 2010 to keep people living near the terminal informed. Graeme Lockwood, Calor’s national terminals manager, said residents can sign up or opt out of the scheme at any time. He added: “It’s a fairly simple system, but it works very well. We use it for general maintenance and if we’re going to be doing anything at the site that’s not routine. A text automatically goes out and we send another message when the work is finished to say it’s all done.”

Residents are said to be used to Calor’s routine alarm check every Tuesday, but since the system was launched, the firm has used the alert system five times – twice when it was carrying out a full test of its alarms and three times for when it has used flares to burn off excess gas. The flare buring was the main reason why the text alert service was launched after worried residents unexpectedly spotted 30ft high flames coming from the terminal in May 2010.

Paul Blacklock, Calor’s head of strategy and corporate affairs, has also welcomed the new county council report. He added: “The text alert system was our own initiative – anything that can be done to raise awareness and give as much advance warning as possible on the island is a good thing.  It needs regular promotion because new people move to the area and may want to know what we’re doing”.

Russell Pearson, Managing Director of Alert Cascade Limited, commented: “Calor Gas’s two fold use of Alert Cascade works well for local residents; by using the service to proactively keep people informed of unexpected activity as well as having it available in the unlikely event of a true incident, we’re able to help local residents better understand the work that’s done on site. The use of mass notification services doesn’t have to be restricted to the traditional definition of emergency situations only; there is a huge benefit in using platforms such as Alert Cascade to build relationships with the local community via informational or operational messages.”

About Alert Cascade Limited:

The company specialises in a suite of software communication and collaboration solutions for Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery, Crisis Communications, Operations Management and Control Room environment.

Natural disaster, emergency incident, IT systems failure, product recall, the impact of terrorist or criminal activity, damage to reputation or brand-name; a crisis means different things to different people; what is common however, is the need to react and manage your way back to normality as quickly as possible. Many leading international and UK based public and private sector organisations trust Alert Cascade to provide them with ‘high availability’ secure applications that reduce the time between knowing about a mission critical situation and doing something about it.

Alert Cascade delivers solutions that have been used successfully in the aftermath of the Asian Tsunami disaster, during the 7/7 London bombings and for response, collaboration and recovery from factory fires, power failures, severe weather, IT-disasters, supply chain issues and numerous other incidents across the globe.