Media Release from Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley: The new FireReady App has been downloaded more than 53,000 times and more than 41,200 Watch Zones created since its release, ahead of the planned shut down of the original application on Monday, 23 December.
Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley has urged Victorians to download the new app to access warnings and information from Country Fire Authority (CFA), Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB).
The original FireReady app has been a successful tool with more than 450,000 downloads but with the new app up and running it's time for users to replace it," he said.
“The original app will be decommissioned on Monday and from midday users won’t be able to access information on their local fire risk unless they download the new one.
“Victorians like the original FireReady app and many users have already told us they like the new look and design but we’re happy to hear any feedback, and we’ll update the app as needed to make sure we provide the best possible digital information service to the community.”
Mr Lapsley said if users needed to know more about the new app they could check out the frequently asked questions on firereadyfaq.emergency.vic.gov.au and provide feedback via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The new app automatically “pushes” notifications of Severe, Extreme and Code Red fire danger rating days to all users of the app as well as declarations of Total Fire Bans.
To receive automatic alerts about incidents and warnings issued, current and new users must set up a ‘watch zone’ around the area in which they’re interested and choose the incidents they want information about.
“Existing and new users need to download the new app and set up watch zones to get local information about the fire risk in any areas you want to monitor such as your own or a family member’s home or workplace,” Mr Lapsley said.
The new app is available on Apple and Android operating systems, which covers 99 per cent of users of the original app.
For Android devices, the new FireReady app requires Gingerbread version 2.3.3 and above. The new app may look and act differently for Android users depending on the phone model because manufacturers add their own unique features.
For Apple devices, the new FireReady app requires iPhone 4 and above, with iOS 5 and above.
Mr Lapsley said the FireReady App development team were tracking feedback on the app to make sure they could address any issues.
“For example, we’ve told users who receive a “Registration failed” message after download to make sure the phone notifications are turned on. Because the FireReady app uses push notifications, if the notifications are disabled, it’s unable to register for notifications with Apple and Google,” he said.
It’s simple to turn the notifications back on and users can check firereadyfaq.emergency.vic.gov.au for device-specific help.
To download the new app, Apple users can visit the iTunes store while Android users can visit the Department of Justice’s Google Play. Links are also available on the Department of Justice’s website at www.justice.vic.gov.au. Information on the app is also available at www.firecommissioner.vic.gov.au.
Victorians should always have more than one way of accessing information including the new VicEmergency website at emergency.vic.gov.au, Victoria’s emergency broadcasters: ABC Radio, commercial and designated community radio stations and Sky News, the Victorian Bushfire Information Line (1800 240 667), official social media channels such as CFA’s Facebook and Twitter channels.
Author: CFA Media