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Helping Our Neighbors in Emergencies |
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Washington Volunteer Fire and Rescue |
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CodeRed Notification System |
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Question: What is CodeRED® and why is it important to me? Answer: CodeRED® is a new Rappahannock County service by which county officials can notify county residents by telephone about emergency situations or critical community alerts. The system is capable of sending messages only to people affected by a particular situation, or, in the case of a widespread emergency like a hurricane, to the county’s entire population. The speed of the CodeRED® system (up to 60,000 calls per hour) is so great that the county is able to send a message to affected households almost as quickly as county officials become aware of the situation. Question: Does this mean the County will be calling me constantly? Answer: No. Rappahannock County respects your privacy. CodeRED® will be used only when situations arise that you should know about. The system will be used to send messages only to those residents who are directly affected by a particular event. For example, if you happen to live in an area for which a “boil water” advisory has been issued due to a water main break, CodeRED® will call only you and your neighbors to deliver that very important health advisory. If there is a City or region-wide emergency such as a hurricane, all Rappahannock County residents will be called and kept up to date on developments. Question: For what kinds of situations will CodeRED® be used? Answer: Hurricanes and other types of severe weather, wildfire, water main breaks, alerts concerning a missing child or adult, road closings, traffic alerts, law enforcement emergencies, hazardous material spills – in short, any and all emergencies and community alerts. Question: Why do I need CodeRED® when I have radio and TV to keep me informed? Answer: CodeRED® is an additional measure of safety that Rappahannock County Emergency Management and administration believe all of our residents need and deserve. If power goes out, you may not be able to depend upon radio and TV. However, because telephone lines are self-powered, the county can continue to keep you informed through messages delivered by CodeRED®. Even if you have power, CodeRED® will probably be able to reach you with important information faster than TV and radio stations can put it on the air. That’s because CodeRED® is a direct connection between you and YOUR COMMUNITY. And unlike hurricanes, many emergencies occur without advance warning. In such cases, you may have no reason to turn on a TV or radio. That’s when CodeRED® can help City officials alert you immediately and advise you to take appropriate action. Question: I have a cordless phone, and it does not work when the power goes out. How is the City going to be able to contact me? Answer: There are two ways you can continue to receive telephone messages from the county through CodeRED®: Make sure you have at least one working corded telephone – and be sure to turn the ringer on. The CodeRED® “Residential Data Collection” sign-up form gives you the option of filling in both a Primary Phone number and an alternate phone number. You can fill in the Alternate Phone number blank with your cell telephone number, or you can make it your Primary Phone number if you wish. Entering an alternate phone number will cause BOTH your primary and alternate phone numbers to be called. Of course, no form of communication is guaranteed to remain in operation under severe conditions such as those produced by a powerful hurricane or a wildfire. CodeRED® does widen the safety margin by offering county residents another new and powerful means of learning about vital, timely information. Question: Do I have to pay extra for CodeRED® service? Answer: No. CodeRED® is entirely paid for by Rappahannock County at a cost of about 1 dollar per resident per year. Question: Does the county have my telephone number, or do I have to sign up to receive CodeRED® emergency calls? Answer: We strongly encourage you to sign up for CodeRED®. After all, you are the most reliable source of information about how to reach your household by phone. Because Rappahannock County wants to reach everyone affected by an emergency whether or not they have signed up for CodeRED®, two telephone number databases are already available to the system. One is the emergency 9-1-1 database all public safety agencies in Rappahannock County use whenever someone dials 9-1-1. The other is a database prepared by the company that supplies CodeRED® service to the county. Both databases are updated regularly. If you have moved or changed your telephone number recently, you should definitely sign up for CodeRED® service or update information you have already provided. Any new information you supply will automatically replace old information. Question: How do I sign up for CodeRED®? Answer: On or before Oct. 1, the home page of Rappahannock County website, http://www.rappahannockcountyva.gov/ and some fire departments web pages will have a link to a CodeRED® Residential Data Collection Form you can fill out online. This is the quickest, easiest way to sign up because the information you supply will immediately update YOUR Community’s CodeRED® telephone number database. If you do not have access to the Internet, you can fill out a paper form that will be available at any government office. This form is a duplicate of the online form. Or if you prefer, you can call Rappahannock’s County Emergency Management Office, 675-5340, and a member of the county staff will help you. Question: Can I arrange to have CodeRED® call my place of business? Answer: Yes. Go to the county website (http://www.rappahannockcountyva.gov/) and click on the CodeRED®® link. When the Residential Data Collection form opens, click on the button labeled “Click to Switch to Business Data” and fill in the required information. Please note that emergency calls can only be delivered to a direct dial number. Automated attendants will disrupt the process and calls will not be delivered. Question: Can I choose NOT to receive CodeRED® messages? Answer: Yes. Rappahannock County respects your privacy. If you do not want to receive calls, please notify Rappahannock County Emergency Management, preferably in writing. However, we strongly advise you to reconsider. CodeRED® is designed to make certain you receive fast, accurate emergency information directly from the county officials whose job is to help protect you and your family. Question: Who provides the CodeRED® service? Is the company reputable? Answer: Emergency Communications Network in Ormond Beach, Florida, provides the service to Rappahannock County. In business since 1996, the company provides CodeRED® service to approximately 30 percent of Florida counties and 10 percent of Florida cities. Among CodeRED®’s many current clients are Venice, Orlando, Orange County, Naples, Marco Island, Longboat Key, Ft. Myers Beach and Collier County. One of the many reasons Rappahannock County chose CodeRED® was the City of Venice’s very positive experience using the system. Question: I live near Rappahannock County, but I am not a resident. Can I sign up for CodeRED®? Answer: No, unfortunately. Rappahannock County pays for CodeRED® service based on its own population. However, we encourage you to check with the county or city in which you live. Many use automated telephone notification systems to alert residents in times of emergency. County staff members will regularly check the CodeRED® database and eliminate addresses and telephone numbers not located within Rappahannock County borders. A vitally important service, CodeRED® is yet another way your Rappahannock County government is seeking to improve public communications and reach out to citizens. If you have any further questions about CodeRED®, please call the Rappahannock County Emergency Management Coordinator @ 675-5340 for more info. |
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What YOU should know about Rappahannock County CodeRED® service |
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Date: October 10, 2008 |
