THIS IS ONLY A TEST: Cops Fear Emergency Alert Test Will Trigger Panic. “Cops are preparing for a blitz of panicked 911 calls during a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, blanketing every TV and radio station coast-to-coast, that experts fear could produce a Orson Welles-like fear frenzy. Boston and state police said they’re both staffing extra 911 dispatchers to answer calls at 2 p.m. Wednesday, when the 30-second alert from the Federal Communications Commission will interrupt regularly scheduled programming on all TV and radio stations in the United States and Puerto Rico. The alert will look and sound like past local announcements, but Federal Communications Commission officials said prep for the nationwide effort has already exposed problems in the 50-year-old system, including the incapability to support closed captioning and translations.”