Stamford Upgrades its Emergency Notification System

The has reportedly upgraded its emergency notification system, which is used to send emergency alerts via text messaging to residents’ mobile devices.

Mayor Michael A. Pavia announced Thursday that the city has contracted with Emergency Communications Network to license its CodeRED high-speed notification system, which allows city officials to send emergency alerts to cell phones, smartphones, tablets and laptops.

Residents and businesses must register on the City of Stamford website in order to receive these emergency alerts.

Many municipalities across the US have already adopted such systems, which are typically tied-in with a city’s emergency management system. The alerts can save lives when major events such as storms, floods, chemical spills, gas leaks, major structural fires, terrorist attacks and other disasters occur by diverting people away from the area where the incident occurred. Similarly the alerts can be used to give residents updates on emergency response activities as well as to inform them when it is safe to return to the area.

The new system will allow the City to send alerts that are targeted to residents who live in specific areas or neighborhoods. This way alerts are only sent to those residents who are affected.

A press release announcing the changeover to the new system says residents who have registered to receive emergency notifications from the City of Stamford in the past should update their contact information to ensure that it is included in the current database.

The City will be testing the new system on Monday, February 13, in the evening, according to the release.