Alert SA

Basic functionality is working which is good but there are still basic issues that need addressing mainly around the colour schemes (when the phone is in dark mode): * Most of the ongoing fires are shown as white circles with black flame icon - this looks like the fire is out * The text is dark on a dark background making it unreadable * Push notifications for watch zones seem to be very delayed. I am getting notifications which when I tap them takes me to the app which says the incident is no longer active In its current state I find myself using the cfs website rather than the app. I am looking forward to some updates to fix the issues.

I used this APP during yesterday’s firestorm conditions and found it to be a very useful and informative tool. A lot of people have been complaining about not being able to create watch zones and initially so was I. I then watched my wife do it with ease on both an iPad and an iPhone and the simple step she made was to give it a name first, then the button “create watch zone” becomes active {goes black from the inactive grey}. This was written in the instructions, first entry on creating watch zones. Mea culpa. One problem I have which is more a nuisance than a bug is that when using an iPad and you work in landscape mode, the map remains in portrait mode ie it does not rotate as the iPad does. This means you have to turn the tablet into portrait mode to read it. Otherwise a nice app that got us through the firestorm with confidence. It is nice that you can add a 3D terrain or satellite imagery as your background. The images are crisp, as are the 3D renderings of the terrain. Well done team. Peter Marsh

response required

Dosent show areas of black that have been burnt like VicEmergancy app dose. Don’t always get notifications and when you do it’s really a bit late, friends had seen it on cfs Facebook 30min before this app let us know. It could of been to late. Other times it hasn’t let us know at all. Very very basic for a emergency app. It should clear the little fire pic once a fire is complete so that it’s gone and just leave a small black dot to show what area was burnt. And if a road is closed due to bushfire you shouldn’t have to go to a different app. People don’t have time to be swapping back and forth.

response required

Not reliable, can’t set watch zones, doesn’t show up to date info re incidents. CFS website or CFS via social media is much more accurate and in real time. I’ll keep on using the CFS data thanks. Govt of SA stated ‘the alert SA app has undergone extensive user acceptance testing to ensure it is reliable and able to withstand large volumes of users during peak periods’. Well that is not the case or else it would be reliable and functional. Don’t release an app until all bugs are fixed and it is user friendly. I’d give this a negative rating if I could.

With fires in SA and temps over 40°C all week this app has been working well. Not as good as the previous version, which I had no problems with. I would appreciate adding a wind direction feature as this is important information in a bushfire situation. Also a heads up on road closures would be useful when evacuating.