DeSantis vows ‘swift accountability’ for 4:45 a.m. emergency test, lawmaker wants ‘Stop Wake Act’
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the Division of Emergency Management’s updated statement that the alert error came from a contracted company called EverBridge.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Florida authorities expressed their regret after thousands of Floridians were woken up before 5 a.m. on Thursday because of an emergency test alert on smartphones.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said he directed Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie to bring “swift accountability” for the use of the test system so early in the morning.
“This was a completely inappropriate use of this system. Stay tuned,” he said.
DeSantis’ administration said the party responsible will be “discharged.”
“This morning’s 4:45AM SERT test alert was not appropriate and not done at our direction. The party responsible will be held accountable and appropriately discharged,” press secretary Bryan Griffin said.
Thursday afternoon, the division announced contracted company EverBridge was responsible for sending the “wrong technical specifications” for the alert.
“Good government identifies errors, corrects them expediently, and holds people accountable when appropriate. The Division recognizes that this error was unacceptably disruptive and will correct it,” they said.
“Please do maintain emergency alert notifications on your cellular device – we will ensure they are used appropriately henceforth.”
“We know a 4:45 AM wake up call isn’t ideal,” the division said. “@FLSERT wants to apologize for the early morning text. Each month, we test #emergencyalerts on a variety of platforms. This alert was supposed to be on TV, and not disturb anyone already sleeping.”
Those with smartphones who received the messages woke up to a loud alarm and a message that read, “TEST – This is a TEST of the Emergency Alert System. NO action is required.”
According to the division, the alert “will never happen again.”
“Only true emergencies are sent as alerts in the middle of the night.”
The Florida Association of Broadcasters lists the Emergency Alert System’s schedule on its website. April’s was set for 4:50 a.m.
After outrage from residents, Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, vowed to file a “Stop Wake Act” to ensure those kinds of tests cannot legally be sent between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.
“I’m 100% serious. I’m gonna call it the “Stop Wake Act”. I need a house sponsor,” Ingoglia said.
The “Stop Wake Act” is a twist to DeSantis’ “Stop WOKE Act,” which targeted employee training and education that involves racial and other left-wing ideologies.
