Bethany Residents: Register for Code Red to be Informed of Developments During the Storm

Bethany residents can now be kept in the loop during any town emergency, including the immenent threat of Hurricane Irene this Sunday. The text below was taken from the Bethany website - everyone is encouraged to go to the website and get on the list immediately:

The Town of Bethany has contracted with Emergency Communications Network to license its CodeRed high speed notification system. The CodeRed sysyem provides Bethany officials the ability to quickly deliver messages to targeted areas or the entire town.

Rod White, Bethany’s Emergency Management Director, cautioned that such systems are only as good as the telephone database supporting them. “If your phone number is not in the database, you will not be called.” One of the reasons the CodeRed system was selected is it gives individuals and businesses the ability to add their own phone numbers directly into the system’s database, this is an extremely important feature.

“No one should automatically assume his or her phone number is included,” White said, urging all individuals and businesses to sign up for the program. Those without Internet access are urged to contact a friend or relative with computer access to assist them. Anyone else may call the Office of Emergency Management at 393-2100 ext 119 and supply their information over the phone. Required information includes first and last name, street address (no P.O. boxes), city, state, zip code, and primary phone number, additional phone numbers can be entered as well.

All businesses should register, as well as all individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, who have changed their phone number or address within the past year, and those who use a cellular phone or VoIP phone as their primary number.

White explained, “CodeRed allows geographically based delivery, which means street addresses are required to insure emergency notification calls are received by the proper individuals in a given situation. The system works for cell phones too, but we need to have an associated street address to provide relevant messages.

White said, “CodeRed gives those who want to be included an easy and secure method for inputting information. The data collected will only be used for emergency notification purposes by ECN and not made available for any other use. Questions should be directed to my office at 393-2100 ext 119.