Tuesday, April 2, 2019
~ West Shore Voice News
The monthly test of CFB Esquimalt’s Mass Notification System (MNS) will take place on Wednesday, April 3 at 11 am for approximately one minute.
Residents may hear sirens and verbal messages from the speakers, mounted on tall poles in the Dockyard, Naden and Work Point in Esquimalt.
Due to a variety of environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and wind direction it is possible that the sirens are heard in neighbouring municipalities including Esquimalt and View Royal (which send out a monthly reminder to their communities).
Because CFB Esquimalt covers a large area, the system is considered to be an invaluable tool during an emergency for communicating important information to base employees, contractors and those visiting the CFB facilities.
During the monthly tests (done on the first Wednesday of each month) two tones plus a message are used: the ‘test tone’ (alternating tone), a message in English and French, and the ‘all clear’ tone (similar to Westminster chime).
The MNS was installed in 2015. It is capable of issuing warnings for emergencies such as hazardous materials, environmental threats, earthquakes, and tsunamis.