Under Alberta's Emergency Management Act, every municipality is legally required to maintain a Municipal Emergency Management Plan (MEMP). These plans must address preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation — but many smaller and rural municipalities struggle to fund the permanent infrastructure these plans demand.

Mobile Surveillance Units (MSUs) offer a practical, cost-effective solution. A single self-contained trailer can fulfill multiple MEMP requirements simultaneously, without the capital investment of permanent facilities.

What Alberta's MEP Requires

A Municipal Emergency Plan must include:

Procedures for operationalizing the plan during emergencies
Use of the Incident Command System (ICS) for coordination
Communications, public alerting, and notification strategies
Hazard monitoring and risk assessment capabilities
Provisions for multi-agency coordination
Post-event documentation for recovery and after-action reports

How an MSU Addresses Each Requirement

Mobile Command Post

An MSU can serve as an on-scene Incident Command post, giving the Incident Commander instant access to live camera feeds, satellite internet, and communications tools. For small or rural municipalities that lack a fixed Emergency Operations Centre, this is a game-changer.

Communications and Public Alerting

With satellite internet (Starlink or cellular hub), loudspeaker, and strobe lighting, the MSU provides reliable communications and public warning capability even in areas where infrastructure has been damaged or doesn't exist. Livestream feeds can be shared with decision-makers, provincial agencies, and approved community leaders via secure links.

Situational Awareness

360-degree camera coverage plus an optional tethered or free-flying drone gives emergency managers real-time aerial and ground-level views of the situation. This is critical during floods, wildfires, evacuations, and search operations where visibility from the ground is limited.

Multi-Agency Coordination

Because the MSU streams live video to a central monitoring station, multiple agencies — municipal, provincial, RCMP, and First Nations — can view the same feed simultaneously. This supports the coordinated response that Alberta's Incident Management System (AIMS 2024) requires.

Documentation and Recovery

All video from the MSU is recorded and archived, providing timestamped evidence for post-event analysis, insurance claims, after-action reports, and regulatory compliance. This documentation is required by most MEMPs but is often the first thing neglected during an actual emergency.

Cost-Effective for Municipalities

The MSU model works particularly well for municipalities because it's available as a service — no large capital purchase required. A municipality can include MSU availability in their MEMP, budget for it as an operating expense, and have a deployable, multi-function emergency operations asset on standby without owning and maintaining the equipment themselves.

For mid-size Alberta municipalities, the annual cost of MSU availability is comparable to a single full-time emergency management salary — but delivers a physical, deployable asset instead of just headcount.

Beyond Emergencies

When not deployed for emergencies, the same MSU can provide:

Construction site security for municipal infrastructure projects
Event security for festivals, Canada Day celebrations, and community gatherings
Traffic monitoring and crowd management
Temporary surveillance for areas experiencing increased crime

Learn More

Video Armed provides Mobile Surveillance Units for municipalities, construction companies, and organizations across Alberta and Canada. Our units are solar-powered, satellite-connected, and monitored by live Canadian operators. Learn more about our MSU capabilities or contact us to discuss your municipality's needs.