CodeRED system keeps Collin County residents safe

by Rodney Williams of McKinneyNews.net

It's safe to say that you know what to do in the event of an emergency: dial 911. But what you probably don't know is that Collin County has a program to dial you in case of emergency.

CodeRED is a web-based automated emergency contact system that notifies county residents of emergency situations, such as hazardous materials spills, escaped felons, natural emergencies (tornado, fire), evacuation notices, flooding or even a lost child. The system is advanced enough that it can target specific areas, depending on the need.

The Collin County Department of Homeland Security and the Collin County Sheriff's Office, as well as the McKinney Fire Marshall, back the system and have the ability to activate it in time of need. The concept behind CodeRED is simple: the ultra-high-speed system notifies residents of emergencies through an automated system that dials land line phone numbers, cell phone numbers and notifies e-mail accounts.

Think of CodeRED as a reverse 911 system. With the ability to dial up to 100,000 different numbers per hour, the system is advanced enough to notify an entire affected area quickly without using any manpower.

"If we need to communicate with the public in an emergency, or sometimes non-critical situation, to give them information about incidents that affect them, we can use this system," said Kelley Stone, Collin County Director of Homeland Security.

"Active participation is like anything else. Getting involved, registering, makes it a more effective system," Stone said.

CodeRED went online in August. The system is paid for through a state homeland security grant. Collin County contracted with Emergency Communications Network, Inc., of Ormond Beach, Fl., for system service.

This is a county-wide system, affecting all incorporated cities with the county (Anna, Melissa, Princeton operate their own systems). Jason Lane, Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator for Collin County, said smaller communities see a benefit over other warning systems.

"One of the benefits that the smaller communities see is that, in years past there has been a trend toward outdoor warning sirens. The key there is "outdoor." Those are great if you're outside. This system can get the word out to [everybody]," Lane said.

The system is free to Collin County residents. It culls phone numbers from a variety of commercial phone databases for its initial sources of contact information. But as the world moves to a cell phone-based society, many residents don't have land lines. Stone and Lane stress how important it is for every County resident to register cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses with the program. Officials say the information collected will remain completely private and will only be used to notify residents in critical situations.

Required information includes first and last name, street address (physical address, no P.O. boxes), city, state, zip code, and primary phone number. Additional phone numbers can be entered, and residents can also have message option to be delivered in English, Spanish or to a TDD/TTY-enable phone for the hearing impaired. Because the CodeRED system is a geographical-based notification system, street addresses are necessary to select which phone numbers will receive emergency notification calls in a crisis.

For more information, please contact Collin County's Homeland Security at 972-548-5537 or (Metro) 972-424-1460 ext. 5537. Click here to register.