Comparison

SA Fires vs Alert SA

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SA Fires

Access up-to-date fire information from South Australia's Country Fire Service. View incidents by recency, severity, or proximity, and see their locations on a map.

Highlights
  • Real-time fire information
  • Sort by latest, severity, or proximity
  • Map fire locations
  • Country Fire Service data
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

SA Fires provides the current fire information from South Australia's Country Fire Service's web site. The information can be listed in latest information first, most severe status first or the closest fires first. The fires can also be mapped out on a google map to give some indication on their locations. Disclaimer: P4G make no representations, either express or implied, as to the accuracy, currency, completeness or suitability for any particular purpose of the information and accepts no liability for any use of the information or any responsibility for any reliance placed on that information. The user acknowledges that the incident information cannot be guaranteed error free and that use of the incident information is at the user's sole risk and that incident information may be subject to change without notice.

About

Alert SA

Receive timely alerts and warnings for various hazards like fires, heatwaves, severe weather, and floods. Customize notifications for up to 10 specific areas and stay informed about fire danger ratings and total fire bans. This official government app ensures you have critical public safety information.

Highlights
  • Multi-hazard alerts
  • Customizable watch zones
  • Fire danger ratings
  • Total fire ban information
  • Cross-border notifications
  • Accessibility features
Features
Read full description

The Alert SA App is the official mobile application of the South Australian Government, designed to provide timely and relevant information on a range of hazards. Stay informed and prepared with alerts and warnings for: · Fires · Heatwaves · Severe weather · Floods · Hazardous materials Additionally, receive important Fire Danger Rating and Total Fire Ban information via the app. With the Alert SA App, you can create up to 10 watch zones to receive notifications about hazards occurring in areas of interest to you. The app uses your mobile device’s GPS location and requires an internet connection to receive data. Key Features: Multi-Hazard Alerts: Receive notifications for various hazards, including fire, flood, severe weather, hazardous materials, and heatwaves. Customizable Watch Zones: Set up to 10 watch zones to get alerts for specific areas. Accessibility: Fully supports large text and voiceover features to ensure you receive information in a way that suits your needs. Cross-Border Notifications: Get fire warnings within 100km of the border of neighbouring states and territories. Modern User Interface: Enjoy a new, intuitive design with a dedicated onboarding screen and improved user experience. Please note that during emergencies and extreme weather events, such as bushfires, floods, or severe storms, telecommunications services may be unreliable. As a result, you may not receive timely information while using the app. The South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission (SAFECOM), the South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS), the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS), and the South Australian State Emergency Service (SES) recommend that you do not rely on any one single source of information during an emergency. Download the Alert SA App today and stay informed about public information and warnings in South Australia. If there’s anything you think we can improve, we’d love to hear from you at AlertSA@eso.sa.gov.au

Screenshots

SA Fires4 screens
Alert SA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Alert SA at Free against SA Fires's $0.99. Alert SA also leads on ratings volume (15 vs 3). SA Fires's advantage is review sentiment (76% vs 53%) and chart position (#78 vs unranked). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Alert SA is free to download; SA Fires costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for SA Fires against 4.9 for Alert SA. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Alert SA has 15 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of SA Fires's written reviews are positive against 53% of Alert SA's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SA Fires ships an update every 5 months, Alert SA every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
SA Fires versus Alert SA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSA FiresAlert SA
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better4.9 (15 ratings)
Positive reviews76.5% of reviews — better53.1% of reviews
Number of ratings315 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#78 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size34 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperP4G Pty LtdGovernment of South Australia – South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission

Customer experience

SA Fires

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews51 reviews
Positive76.5%
Neutral2.0%
Negative21.6%

Alert SA

All ratings15 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews143 reviews
Positive53.1%
Neutral9.8%
Negative37.1%

Bugs and requests

SA Fires

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Alert SA

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • App freezes on welcome screen after update (version 3.3.0+)
  • Fire hazard rating button causes app crash
  • Notifications not received despite enabled settings and watch zones configured
  • Push notifications fail after iPhone OS updates
  • App stuck in portrait mode on iPad in landscape orientation
Show 5 more
  • Notifications arrive days late or not at all
  • Incidents outside watch zones still trigger alerts
  • No push notification buttons visible on some iPhone models
  • App becomes unresponsive during high-incident periods
  • Inconsistent notification delivery across devices

Requested features

16 requests
  • Customizable notification sounds with multiple options
  • Ability to filter alert types (fires only vs. all incidents)
  • Watch zones smaller than 5km for suburban areas
  • Wind direction and speed information for fire events
  • Dynamic watch zones that adjust based on fire danger levels
Show 11 more
  • Landscape mode support for iPad/tablets
  • Route-based alert zones instead of radius-only
  • Evacuation point locations with facility details (pet-friendly, horse-friendly)
  • Different zone sizes for different hazard types
  • North indicator on map
  • Road closure information integrated into app
  • Burned area visualization (black zones for completed fires)
  • Toggle to hide completed incidents
  • Ability to sort incidents by most recent first
  • Optional heatwave and non-critical alerts
  • Street address in tree-down notifications

In-app purchases

None

SA Fires

No in-app purchases

None

Alert SA

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SA Fires free?
SA Fires costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Alert SA free?
Alert SA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SA Fires or Alert SA?
SA Fires is rated higher. SA Fires averages 5.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Alert SA averages 4.9 from 15 ratings.
Do SA Fires or Alert SA have ads?
Neither SA Fires nor Alert SA shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SA Fires or Alert SA?
SA Fires ships an update every 5 months, and Alert SA every 3 months. Most recently, SA Fires was updated on September 26, 2026 and Alert SA on September 23, 2026.

Other comparisons