Halifax-area resident launches free emergency information hub for public

Yuan Wang · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 26, 2026 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 hours ago

Ever since his family was evacuated during the 2023 wildfire in the Hammonds Plains, N.S., area, Anthony Probert has seen a pressing need for a reliable, centralized source of emergency information.

Last week, the software developer launched Halifax Fire Alerts, a free platform designed to gather emergency data in one place.

Probert said the application pulls available data from Nova Scotia and Halifax Regional Municipality agencies to provide the public with a single, trustworthy hub during crises.

The app features real-time dispatch alerts from Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency, police bulletins and provincewide burn restrictions.

“I’m not trying to replace 911,” Probert said. “What I am trying to do is get as much information to the users as possible in one spot.”

He said people have complained that official alerts are sometimes delayed, while residents searching for updates on social media often have to sift through unrelated posts about pets and local events to find the information they require.

Having “a single source of truth directly from the horse’s mouth” best serves the public’s needs, he said.

The platform debuted during the Mooseland Road wildfire in Halifax County that Probert said highlighted some of the issues it was created to solve.

• Video

  Report highlights Halifax’s most vulnerable communities for egress

“I think everybody has been impacted at this point by a wildfire of some sort. So having that information, whether it’s in Yarmouth or Sydney or Amherst, would be a huge help.”

The app also includes a feature that allows users to report and verify information about emergencies in their communities in real time.

• Halifax firefighters outline challenges, lessons learned in Upper Tantallon fire

“Providing a space where people can communicate openly, provide their images, provide their videos, provide their details that they’re seeing on their end, it almost makes them mini reporters,” he said.

The platform’s iOS app cracked the App Store’s top 100 utilities category within 13 hours of its launch, Probert said, and the website has logged thousands of page views to date.

• More stories from Halifax Regional Municipality

While most of the platform’s data currently comes from the Halifax fire department, Probert said he hopes the project will raise awareness and encourage other municipalities across the province to make more real-time emergency data publicly available.

In an emailed statement to CBC News, Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency said the municipality’s open data is available for anyone to access and use, and the public has been employing it for years to create various informational tools.

However, the department also advises cautious use of independent applications because incident information can change rapidly as emergency crews respond, the statement said.

MORE TOP STORIES

• Why Sloan’s bassist is touring Europe with an R.E.M. tribute band fronted by a Hollywood actor

• Apartment fire extinguished at downtown Halifax high-rise

• Halifax Diaper Bank to close in September until new head can take over service

• N.S. businesses call for urgent overhaul of immigration policies

• New agreement makes it easier for Bluenosers to get drivers’ licences in Japan