ATHOL — Seated in his office jammed with file cabinets topped with manila folders, manuals and bumper stickers touting “Smoke Detectors: The Sound of Life,” and “Freedom Isn’t Free” Athol Fire Chief John Duguay had a simple point to make.
“I hope I never have to use it,” he said. “But it’s there if we need it.”
Duguay was referring to CodeRED, a web-based communication service the town recently purchased, which is now up and running. The community notification system works much like the reverse 911 system used by the sheriff’s department, but is more sophisticated.
There is no charge for residents to enroll in the service, which notifies residents and businesses by telephone (landline or cellphone) text message, email, and social media of any emergency or situation deemed urgent enough to get the word out to residents in a timely manner.
Within minutes, a message recorded by the fire chief (or a designee) can alert residents of evacuation notices, road closures, missing persons, inclement weather, fires or accidents, bioterrorism alerts and boil water notices.
“Presently, I am the only one who can send out a message,” said Duguay, who noted messages can be sent out to the entire town, or to sections or neighborhoods within the town selected (by a simple sweep of the cursor on his computer screen).
“Messages will go to every phone or cellphone signed up. It will automatically go to all landlines, but cellphone users must register their numbers.”
Duguay noted the CodeRED Community Notification Enrollment Page is live on the town website at www.athol-ma.gov and takes just a few minutes to complete. Users have the option of signing in with Google, Facebook or Twitter. There is also a CodeRED Mobile Alert app available. There is no charge to sign up. Those who do not have the internet at home are encouraged to consider visiting the library or ask a friend or family member to register their information.
No resident should assume their information is in the system. It must be entered into the database.
The information collected includes name, address and phone number (you can enter more than one) and email address (you can enter more than one). Subscribers may also choose the types of alerts (emergency and/or general notifications) they would like to receive. During the sign-up process, users may elect to keep their information private and can opt out at any time. The names and phone numbers of subscribers are not visible to the fire department, but are entered into the database created by OnSolve, the company that operates the system, for the area within town boundaries.
A CodeRED message will have the caller ID number 866-419-5000 for emergencies, and 855-969-4636 for non-emergencies. It is suggested the numbers be programmed into cellphones as new contacts. If you need to replay the message you can simply press any key or dial the number and hear the entire message again. If you receive a CodeRED email or text, be sure to read the entire message carefully and follow all instructions. CodeRED will leave voicemails or messages on answering machines. If you do not have an answering machine, the system will consider the call as incomplete and will attempt to call again after several minutes. If your phone line is busy, CodeRED will try two more times to connect.
Users are not required to renew their registrations as long as their contact information has not changed. Those who move, however, should update their information to ensure you will continue receiving alerts specific to their neighborhood.
Those signing up will receive a test notification by whichever method they choose — phone, text, or email.
Duguay said the https://bit.ly/2lUjhEi link will be kept on the town homepage for the convenience of residents to sign up any time of the day or night.
“This new system will be very useful,” said Duguay, noting the contract allows for an unlimited number of messages. He said once people have a chance to sign up, he will send out a welcome message.
Duguay, who recommends residents sign up for the notification service, plans to hold information sessions at the Athol Senior Center.
A series of nine training webinars (an online seminar) were conducted for the chief, deputy chief, superintendent of the Department of Public Works and the Athol town manager, prior to the website launch.
The cost to the town for a year’s contract is $4,450.
The surrounding towns of Orange, Templeton Phillipston and Winchendon, also use CodeRED.