October 25, 2017
New emergency alert system offers more features
Murphy residents who subscribe to the City’s emergency alert system, Code Red, will be required to switch over to a new system on Nov. 1, as the City is migrating its citizen alert system to Rave Alert, powered by Smart911.
“On the first of November, we will flip the switch, turning off Code Red and turning on Smart911,” says Police Chief Arthur “Trey” Cotten. “Citizens accustomed to receiving Code Red alerts will have to open up a new account on the new system and create their profile. It’s an upgrade that will provide more than emergency alerts.”
The site can be accessed here.
While the Code Red system filled a specific need, the Smart911 system provides far more capabilities. For example, not only will Smart911 subscribers be able to pick and choose those alerts they have an interest in, such as weather, police emergencies and emergency management notices, residents can also opt in to receiving non-emergency notices from various City departments like street closures, community events, power outages, planned detours and other special announcements.
In addition, the Smart911 system will allow Murphy residents the ability to create a personal safety profile online and attach that safety profile to all of their phone numbers. The online safety profile, completely secure and confidential, can include any information they may want 9-1-1 dispatchers and first responders to have. Then, if they need to dial 9-1-1 their safety profile will immediately display on the dispatcher’s screen, allowing them to send the right response teams to the right location with the right information.
“This feature can be critical when residents with online profiles call 9-1-1 to report an emergency,” said the Chief. “Dispatchers can immediately read the subscriber’s safety profile and relay pertinent information to the responding officers, firefighters or emergency medical technicians. The system can most definitely be a life-saver.”
The safety profile allows residents the ability to include medical information such as deadly allergies, diabetic conditions, pacemakers, heart disorders, blood types and maladies, as well as the presence of elderly family members. All of that can make a life-saving difference to the medical responders. Other features include adding photos of children, pets and animals, close relatives, and other information that can prove essential in saving time during search and rescue emergencies.
Additional information, including vehicle details in the event of an accident, and even emergency contacts can all be included in their safety profile. All information is optional, and the citizen has the ability to choose what details they would like to include. Signing up is not mandatory and, since each resident is responsible for inputting their own information, residents have complete control over the type and amount of information shared.
“We encourage everyone to sign up and create a profile, adding as much or as little information as they want,” said Cotten.