{"id":109472,"date":"2026-05-01T15:56:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T19:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=109472"},"modified":"2026-05-01T15:56:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T19:56:01","slug":"mass-notification-system-test-planned-for-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2026\/05\/mass-notification-system-test-planned-for-sunday\/","title":{"rendered":"Mass Notification System test planned for Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Brock University is joining communities and organizations across Canada in marking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/services\/policing\/emergencies\/preparedness\/get-prepared\/emergency-preparedness-week.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Emergency Preparedness Week<\/a> (EP Week).<\/p>\n<p>The national initiative, which runs Sunday, May 3 to Saturday, May 9, aims to raise awareness and encourage everyone to plan for emergencies that could impact areas where they live, work and study.<\/p>\n<p>As part of its emergency preparedness efforts, Brock will conduct a full-scale test of the Mass Notification System on Sunday, May 3.<\/p>\n<p>This system can broadcast urgent messages across all Brock network computer screens, electronic message boards, email, voicemail extensions and social media platforms.<\/p>\n<p>EP Week also offers an ideal opportunity for Brock students, staff and faculty to ensure the <a href=\"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/apps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Brock Safety App<\/a> is installed, updated and active on their mobile devices.<\/p>\n<p>George Bench, Director of Emergency Management and Life Safety, notes that the app is free to download from the App Store and Google Play.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Brock Safety App plays a vital role in the University\u2019s safety notification and communications approach, giving users direct access to safety resources and timely information when urgent situations arise,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>To get the most from the app and ensure they\u2019re receiving timely notifications, Brock users should:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Turn on notifications for the Brock Safety App.<\/li>\n<li>Keep both the app and device operating system up to date.<\/li>\n<li>Open the app regularly.<\/li>\n<li>Review battery and background activity settings \u2014 battery optimization and adaptive battery settings are especially important for Android users.<\/li>\n<li>Check device settings that may automatically hibernate (offload), disable or restrict apps that are not used frequently.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cKeeping the app active is important not only during Emergency Preparedness Week, but throughout the year,\u201d says Bench.<\/p>\n<p>This EP Week, Brock is also reminding students, staff and faculty that a few simple steps can make a big difference when it comes to emergency response, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Understanding the risks that may impact their community, such as potential severe weather. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.niagararegion.ca\/emergency\/hazards\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Niagara Region<\/a> provides helpful tips around weather and preparedness.<\/li>\n<li>Making plans in advance to ensure they, along with family or colleagues, can respond effectively to an emergency at home or work.<\/li>\n<li>Preparing an emergency kit of basic supplies that would allow them to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours during an emergency.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Open the Brock Safety App and visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/campus-safety\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Campus Safety Services<\/a> website for more resources, such as emergency contacts, safety tips, support information and useful links.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brock University is joining communities and organizations across Canada in marking Emergency Preparedness Week (EP Week).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":109476,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,1],"tags":[4912,10293,15131,8308],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109472"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109472"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109477,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109472\/revisions\/109477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}